Frau Märchen
by MultiplePersonas
Summary: Ms. Bustier loves fairy tales, and can't wait to start her new course, an entire class dedicated to them. But when things don't pan out, Hawk Moth akumatizes her into the insidious witch Frau Märchen, who threatens to turn Paris into her personal kingdom! Will Ladybug and Cat Noir bring about Happily Ever After, or will it be The End?
1. Once Upon a Time

_MultiplePersonas: Hey, folks! Welcome to my newest Ladybug fic!_

 **PA2: Ahem! I think you mean** _ **our**_ **newest Ladybug fic. And this one was my idea!**

 _MP: Let's not start_ that _argument again. Besides, this is a time to celebrate! We've been working on this one for months!_

 **PA2: Yeah, tell me about it. Let's just lay it all out now, folks; this is a** _ **long**_ **one.**

 _MP: But in easily-digested portions!_

 **PA2: An odd metaphor, but accurate. Don't worry, it's not x-number of** _ **Party Animal**_ **length chapters.**

 _MP: Hey, leaving that one as a oneshot was your idea! But yeah, we've divided this one nicely - though I still say it feels like a video game._

 **PA2: And I still say that that's part of the appeal. What's the point of writing fanfiction if you don't take any liberties? *PS. That last bit of MP's line won't make sense for a few chapters, so don't worry.***

 _MP: You can decide for yourselves. Just enjoy the ride._

 **PA2: On that, at least we can agree. Happy reading!**

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 **Frau Märchen:**

 **A Miraculous Ladybug Fic**

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 **Chapter 1: Once Upon a Time**

"'Once upon a time'," Ms. Bustier began. It was the last class of the day at College Francoise Dupont, and Ms. Bustier was getting heavily invested into her lesson. "Truly magical words. So simple, so elegant, and vague enough to reflect the timeless nature of the tales. More importantly, though, they distance the tales from both our modern time and our modern reality. They set up the idea that anything and everything is possible, that frogs turning into princes and spinning straw into gold are no more uncommon than the sun rising in the morning. They are some of the most important words in literary history, and have served as the inspiration for many a dreamer."

Dreaming was exactly what some of the students were doing. Chloe had her phone out, texting away, and Alix and Kim had fallen asleep in their chairs. On the other hand, Rose and Mylene were paying rapt attention, and most of the others showed a polite interest as well.

Among them was Marinette Dupain-Cheng, a pretty half-Chinese girl with big, expressive blue eyes, who was honestly somewhat surprised. Ms. Bustier was a great teacher, and she had demonstrated her appreciation for fairy tales on many occasions, but Marinette had never heard her give a lesson with so much energy before.

 _I think she's had first-hand experience with being inspired_ , she thought as she looked at Ms. Bustier's animated expression. She was a skinny woman with short red hair done up in a bun, and bright, joyful green eyes that took up half of her heart-shaped face. As usual, she was wearing her favorite pale blue jacket and seafoam blouse. _She's so passionate about this._

"From the very beginning, fairy tales were created not only to entertain, but to impart lessons as well. While the stories and motifs are so old that it is nearly impossible to pin down a true 'original' for most of them, there is strong evidence pointing towards the Brothers Grimm as being the ones who brought them into the mainstream. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm became famous for collecting folk and cautionary tales from all over their native Germany and compiling them into their various collections. While today people tend to view the romantic connotations above all others, most older versions of fairy tales, or 'Märchen', as they are called in German, were morality tales, and featured many a darker element. From Little Red Riding Hood's death at the jaws of the wolf to Snow White being revived not by true love's kiss, but by a jostling of the coffin carrying her all-but-deceased body, fairy tales are far from the child-friendly stories they tend to be perceived as," Ms. Bustier continued.

As she talked, Marinette felt a nudge at her elbow, and turned to see her best friend, Alya Cesare, grinning at her. "Imagine what it'd be like if you and Lover-boy were in that Snow White," Alya whispered, glancing over at Adrien Agreste, Marinette's barely-secret crush, sitting right in front of them. "It doesn't get much more romantic than having your prince wake you up by trying to drag your carcass back to the palace."

"Alya!" Marinette whispered back. "We should be paying attention!" But Alya's words had sparked something in her mind. She stared at the back of Adrien's head, a soft smile edging its way onto her face. Even from behind he was gorgeous. His blonde feathered hair and perfect skin alone would have been enough, but combined with his kindness and modesty? And those beautiful green eyes, and that coy smile with those sparkling teeth? She could see it now, herself lying in a glass coffin, as Adrien stepped up to her, kneeling down to press his lips against hers…

"Um, Marinette? What happened to paying attention?" Alya muttered, waving her hand in front of her friend's face. It was no good. She was completely gone. Sighing, Alya started writing down an extra set of notes.

An hour later, Ms. Bustier paused in her lesson and looked around the classroom. Marinette had awoken from her stupor by this point, but much of the rest of the class were barely paying attention.

"Perhaps I should give another example," Ms. Bustier pondered, staring at the students' dazed expressions. "Ms. Raincomprix," she said, turning to Sabrina, "what is your favorite fairy tale?"

Sabrina, taken off-guard, adjusted her horn-rimmed glasses and ran a finger through her ginger hair. "Um, Cinderella, I guess," she replied, unsure of what was about to happen.

Ms. Bustier smiled. "That's a very popular choice," she began. "Glass slippers, fairies, a trip to the ball, it's a favorite among young girls. But in the Grimm version of Cinderella, or Aschenputtel as she was known in German, things were quite different. Not only was there no fairy godmother, the role instead being filled by a hazel tree planted at the grave of Cinderella's mother, and no glass slippers, the shoes instead being gold, but her stepsisters also cut off pieces of their feet to fit in the shoes, and later had their eyes pecked out by birds. The elements we tend to associate with Cinderella, most notably the aforesaid glass slippers, came about in the version written by our country's own Charles Perrault, but many people consider the Grimm version to be the authentic one. Personally," she continued, shrugging, "I see both versions as equally valid, but there's no denying that the Grimms' version more closely matches what many would consider an 'original' or 'traditional' fairy tale, with its gory punishment of the wicked."

More students were staring forward now. Trust blood and violence to catch the attention of teenagers.

"Speaking of darker turns to common fairy tales, there is a very popular collection that has much more interesting roots than one might think. Nowadays, when people think of _Alf Layla-wa-Layla_ , otherwise known as _One Thousand and One Nights_ or the Arabian Nights, you'd think of Aladdin and Ali Baba, enjoyable adventure stories for children. While those stories tend to be represented fairly well in most collections, barring ones that take heavy inspiration from the Disney version, they aren't even featured in the earliest known version. What's more, the vast bulk of the Arabian Nights is more violent and much, much raunchier. Filled with descriptions of sex, both lyrical and frank, it was considered to be improper reading for women and children when it was first popularized. Only relatively recently has it become acceptable to be read in said circles, either edited or unedited."

This got the attention of the rest of the class. Where violence had failed in getting their full attention, sexual talk had succeeded.

Noticing the clock and deciding to take advantage of the surge in interest, Ms. Bustier clapped her hands together. "Now, I'm sure that many of you are wondering why I decided to have a fairy tale-focused lesson today. Well, I wanted to showcase just how important fairy tales were to our culture, and also to make you all aware of the new elective course that will be hopefully starting up very soon."

All of the students, even Alix and Kim, focused on Ms. Bustier, who was smiling. "After months of preparation, I've laid all the groundwork for an elective course of my own, focusing exclusively on the study and analysis of fairy tales from all over the world. I spoke about it with Principal Damocles, and it should be announced to the _collége_ at large tomorrow. Technically I shouldn't even be telling you this, but given what we've been through together, I wanted to give you advance notice, and express my sincere hopes that I will see all of you attending it."

At that, the entire classroom began to buzz with whispered conversation. "In the meantime," Ms. Bustier continued, raising her voice, "I want each of you to choose a fairy tale - any one at all from any country or time - read the original version, then write a one-page report on what you were able to glean from it. It can be a lesson, a moral, an aspect of the culture, even a comparison between the original and the most popular version if you find notable differences, as long as it demonstrates insight. Tomorrow, we'll talk about your reports and have a general celebration of the starting of my new course. Class dismissed."

Now talking excitedly, the students filed out. Marinette was about to follow them when she heard Ms. Bustier's voice. "Marinette, can I speak to you for a moment before you go?" she said.

Puzzled, Marinette turned back. "Uh, sure, Ms. Bustier," she replied. "What do you need?"

Ms. Bustier smiled at her. "Oh, it's nothing serious. I just wanted to place an order for your parents' bakery. Do you think they could manage two dozen gingerbread men by tomorrow? In case you couldn't tell, I've been working on getting this course off the ground for a while, and I think some sweets would be a great way to celebrate finally getting it done."

"Absolutely!" Marinette said, her face brightening up. "You can count on us!"

"Fantastic!" Ms. Bustier replied. "Just ask your parents to give you a list of the total costs, and I'll make sure to pay them as soon as possible. Also, I'm giving you permission to come to class a little late tomorrow, so that the treats have all the time they need, and so you have time to finish up that report in case you decide to get involved with the baking yourself."

"Sounds good to me!" Marinette giggled, before turning and rushing out the door. "See you tomorrow, Ms. Bustier!"

"See you tomorrow, Marinette," Ms. Bustier said, before leaning back against her desk with a sigh of relief.

"Well, you look like the cat who's got the cream," an aggrieved voice said. Groaning softly, Ms. Bustier turned to see Ms. Mendeleiev in the doorway. The purple-haired science teacher was looking at her through her rectangular glasses with a frustrated expression on her sharp, triangular face, her bony arms crossed over her chest. While the two were friendly most of the time, there were plenty of times where her strict and short-tempered personality made talking to her...difficult.

"May I help you, Ms. Mendeleiev?" Ms. Bustier asked.

"Unless you change your mind and stop encouraging our students to spend half the day dreaming away, then no, you may not," Ms. Mendeleiev replied.

"Marie, please. I understand that we don't always see eye to eye, but I don't understand how my running an elective does anything to affect your own relationship with the students, nor how it hurts your ability to teach," Ms. Bustier said, getting up and walking over to the angry science teacher.

Mrs. Mendeleiev took a deep breath. "It's the principle of the matter, Caline," she said. "Students are here to learn. That's the reason that they're here; to become prepared for what the outside world has to offer. Literature and poetry most certainly have their place, and it's an important one. But a course devoted entirely to fairy tales? Quite frankly, I can't see any purpose for that apart from giving you a way to devote more time to your obsession," she continued, her gaze softening a bit. Granted, she still looked quite annoyed, but it was the thought that counted.

Ms. Bustier placed a hand on Ms. Mendeleiev's shoulder. "I understand where you're coming from. Really, I do. And I'll be the first to admit that I can get a bit...worked up over fairy tales. But I've been working to get this course approved for months, and my efforts are finally paying off. Besides, I truly think that it's going to be a wonderful way for the students to explore avenues of literature they never gave much thought to before. You can see that, can't you?"

After a moment, Ms. Mendeleiev sighed. "I suppose I can. But I'd be careful about spreading the news around too much. I heard Damocles in his office earlier, and he was muttering something fierce about having trouble finding a way to fit something in. Given that yours is the only new elective I can think of..."

"I'll worry about that if it comes up, but I've got a good feeling about this," Ms. Bustier said, smiling. "Now, want me to brew you a cup of tea? I have to stay late to get some work done, so I was about to make myself some."

"Only if you save some for Armand. I'm sure the man must be exhausted after a day of having to look after those children," Ms. Mendeleiev said, as the two walked out of the classroom.

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Marinette happened to live right across the street from College Francoise Dupont, above the Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie, which was widely considered to be the best bakery in Paris.

"Hello, Marinette," her mom greeted her as she came through the door. Sabine Cheng was a petite Chinese woman with Marinette's sparkling eyes. "How was school, dear?"

"It was great, mom," Marinette replied. "Ms. Bustier's starting a new elective class on fairy tales, and she wanted to order two dozen gingerbread men for tomorrow."

"Fairy tales?" her father said, peeking in from the kitchen. He was easily three times his wife's size, but you could tell by looking at him that he was a gentle giant. He had a small but well-trimmed mustache and Marinette's kind smile. "Gingerbread men? Sounds like a fun day!"

"Maybe we could throw in some candy apples, or pumpkin bread," Sabine suggested.

"Go easy, mom," Marinette warned. "I don't think Ms. Bustier wants a full-on party, and I don't want her thinking we're trying to inflate the bill. Anyway, I've got a report to write. See you! Let me know if you need any help!"

"Bye, Marinette!" Tom and Sabine said in unison as Marinette ascended the stairs, then the ladder to her room. It was a converted attic that housed her bed, desk, tv, and such. It was a little cramped at times, but Marinette preferred to think of it as "cozy". Photos of Adrien plastered one wall, his handsome face staring back at her from each one.

As Marinette sat down at her desk, a small creature, like a cross between a fairy and a ladybug, with a disproportionately large head and enormous blue eyes, flew out of her bag and up to her face.

"So, Marinette," it inquired. "Do you know which story you'll choose?"

"Not yet, Tikki," Marinette admitted, booting up her computer. "Let's take a look and see what we can find." she said as she glossed over several popular fairy tales. "Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Rapunzel...man, those Grimms really loved the 'damsel in distress' character, didn't they?"

"It was a common theme back then," Tikki sighed. "The Ladybug at the time tried to convince them to add something different, but they didn't want to appear too radical. They were more interested in collecting stories from the locals than coming up with original ones anyway."

Once again, Marinette was speechless at the casual revelation of Tikki's age. It was one thing to know in the abstract that she had been providing people with the power to transform into Ladybug, the costumed superhero currently protecting Paris from Hawk Moth and his akumas, since at least Ancient Egyptian times. But to know that she had interacted with historical figures like that...it boggled the mind.

"You really knew Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm?" Marinette asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, no," Tikki admitted. "I'm a kwami, and we're supposed to be kept secret. I was always either in Ladybug's bag or earrings when she talked to them, which wasn't often, anyway. Still, they were fairly nice people, especially after Ladybug saved them from whatever evil force was trying to harness their storytelling abilities."

"What do you mean?" Marinette asked.

"Stories have power, Marinette, and so does belief," Tikki said. "The Brothers Grimm didn't have any magic to speak of, but their ability to gather and popularize old folktales was a magic in and of itself. There were plenty of unsavory forces who wanted to use that. If they were to enter into a story, and it were to be told and retold, they could have harnessed that belief to increase their power, maybe even become immortal. Luckily they never succeeded, because whatever they ended up doing, it wouldn't have been good for the Grimms or the world.

"But enough about that. You should get this report done as soon as possible. See any good stories? I was always partial to Thumbelina, myself," Tikki finished, giggling.

Marinette giggled, too. For all that Tikki was a being of incredible power, she was also sweet, caring, and a bit of a goofball. Those traits helped make the moments of ancient wisdom much less unsettling than they could have been. "Well, what kind of stories did they tell before the Grimms came along?"

Tikki shrugged. "Myths, mostly. Plenty of cultures had folktales and stories that would eventually be categorized as fairy tales, but much of what was told back then were what people today consider myths. Lots of religious stories turned into modern fairy tales with the advent of new religions, you know."

"For example?"

"Well, there's Cupid and Psyche. Nowadays it's seen as another version of Beauty and the Beast, with some Cinderella and even a little Sleeping Beauty. But it originally came from an ancient Roman novel, and was based in the religious beliefs at the time. It wasn't a fairy tale, but a religious allegory told to highlight a scene in the book. And even before that, the characters appeared in Greek artwork from as early as six hundred years before the novel was written. While it's seen as a fairy tale now, back then, it had a great deal more relevance."

"Interesting," Marinette said, pulling up a word processor. "Ms. Bustier wasn't kidding about fairy tales being complex. It's too bad that most of the class didn't seem to think so."

"You can't blame them too much," Tikki responded. "Ms. Bustier's a good teacher, but even I could see that the lesson was more of a way for her to show what she knew, instead of something really meant to teach them. They still should have paid more attention, but I understand why they didn't."

"Is that such a bad thing? It's something she's really passionate about, so she deserves a chance to talk about it every once in a while. And now that she has this course, she'll be able to talk about it as much as she wants."

"Yep!" Tikki said brightly.

"Now, think you can tell me the story? I think I've got the subject for my report."

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"No, Plagg!" Adrien insisted to his own kwami, who looked like a cross between a fairy and a black cat, with big green eyes and a sly grin. "I'm not doing my report on 'The Boy Who Wanted More Cheese'!"

"Aw, why not?" Plagg demanded, taking another bite of his wedge of camembert.

Adrien sighed. Plagg was a good friend, and he was unimaginably grateful to him for providing the opportunity to let his true self loose as Cat Noir, assistant defender of Paris alongside his beloved Ladybug. But most of the time, he was useless when it came to anything outside of turning him into a superhero and eating ridiculous amounts of cheese. "Because it speaks to _you_ , not me," he replied. "And because literally no one else has ever heard of it before. I don't want to pick something obvious, but that story is way too out there."

The two of them were housed in Adrien's palace of a bedroom at Agreste Manor, digging through the bookshelves of the second floor to find a suitable story for Adrien's report. So far, they'd been having little luck.

"Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty," Adrien said, flipping through his old storybooks. "An awful lot of romance in these stories."

"Fashion of the time, I guess," Plagg said. "Hey, why don't you pick one of them and talk about how it makes you think of Ladybug? I'm sure you'd be able to write a page on that in no time!"

Adrien blushed and swatted Plagg aside. "No way I'd blow my secret identity over something as silly as a school project!" he snapped. "I just need something with values I strongly believe in."

"Like what?"

"You know, being true to yourself, determination, that sort of thing."

Adrien's fingers ran over a thin book caked with dust. Interested, he pulled it out and took a look. "Oh, I remember this! Mom used to read it to me when I was little."

"'The Steadfast Tin Soldier'?" Plagg asked, reading the title aloud. "I remember that one. Isn't that pretty romantic, too?"

"There's more to it than that, Plagg!" Adrien snapped. "It's about overcoming adversity! You know, I think I've found the subject for my report…"

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"So, Caline," inquired tall, thin gym teacher Mr. Armand D'Argencourt, twirling his already curly mustache. "How many students do you expect to take your elective?"

Ms. Bustier took a moment to blow on her tea as she thought about her answer. "That's difficult to say," she replied. "I'd aim high. You know students - if they think it'll be an easy class, they'll come flocking. Don't worry, though; I intend to give out plenty of assignments."

The three of them were seated around a table in the teachers' lounge, and Ms. Bustier was alternating between drinking her tea, chatting with her fellow teachers, and flipping through her massive leather-bound collection of fairy tales, coming up with various lesson plans.

"On what, though? I would think that analyzing these stories would be very cut and dry, would it not? Especially for the more common ones," Ms. Mendeleiev asked, taking a sip from her own cup.

"You'd be surprised. It's the same as with any other form of literature; there are as many different potential interpretations as there are readers. Besides, I have a wide selection to choose from, so I'm sure I'll be able to stump most of them at one point or another," Ms. Bustier said, tapping the cover of her collection.

"Hm," Mr. D'Argencourt mused, staring at the book. "Perhaps there _is_ some merit to such a class."

"Speaking of that, Caline," Ms. Mendeleiev said, also looking at the book, "I've been wondering, where did you get that book? It seems quite old, and quite valuable."

Ms. Bustier smiled. "I'm not sure about valuable, but you're right about it being old. It's something of a family heirloom. Have you ever heard of Andrew Lang?"

"Yes, actually," Mr. D'Argencourt said. "My family kept a copy of his works in the house. He was one of the first major fairy tale collectors of the modern age, right? Published them in his 'Fairy Books,' if I'm remembering correctly."

"Yep," Ms. Bustier replied. "Supposedly, my great-great-grandfather actually knew him closely, and as a result was given this specially produced collection of several of his stories. Personally, I think it's more likely that he picked this up in some old bookstore somewhere, but it definitely looks the part. I guess you can say that this is what inspired me to start studying fairy tales to begin with."

"Quite a claim to fame," Ms. Mendeleiev commented. "And you're sure you want to bring it into a school? There's quite a lot that could happen to damage it."

"Like I said, I don't really care about the value," Ms. Bustier told her. "I'm always very careful with it, but as long as the print stays legible and the pictures stay clear, I can handle it getting banged up. Besides, this book is pretty sturdy. It's taken a fair bit of abuse over the years, being dropped and tossed around. It can handle a classroom full of rowdy teens or," she said, chuckling, "being kept near three teachers drinking tea."

The aforesaid teachers all shared a good laugh over that, before returning to their tea. After a few minutes, though. Ms. Bustier got up, tucking her book under her arm.

"Leaving so soon, Caline?" Mr. D'Argencourt asked.

"The opposite, in fact," she replied. "Damocles has a meeting with the school board tonight, so he asked me to stick around and lock up after the janitors leave, which won't be until late tonight. Since this means I'm going to be staying here for the next several hours, I figured I'd get a head start on some grading and planning. See you two tomorrow, alright?"

"You know, we could stay with you a little longer and help out if you'd like," Ms. Mendeleiev said. "We don't have anywhere to be for a little while."

"Don't worry about it!" Ms. Bustier said. "I'll be fine, trust me. Besides, I'm sure you have better things to do than sit around and grade French papers. You two head on home."

"Alright," Ms. Mendeleiev said as she and Mr. D'Argencourt got up from their chairs. "See you tomorrow, Caline. And remember what I told you about Damocles."

"Will do," Ms. Bustier said as she walked out the door. "Will do."

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"And finished!" Marinette said, typing the last word into her document. "One page on Cupid and Psyche, ready to go!"

"Great work, Marinette!" Tikki chirped, flying over to read over the report. "I'm sure Ms. Bustier will love the topic you chose!"

"Well, you're the one who mentioned how many fairy tales it was similar to," Marinette replied, rubbing the back of her head. "Once I started looking it up, it was pretty easy to make an argument about its connections. Plus, it showed me some more obscure stories, which I'm sure will give me extra points with Ms. Bustier." She looked it over one more time, then smiled. "Looks like a perfect grade to me! Now, think mom and dad need some help with the cookies?"

"I doubt they'd say no!" Tikki said. "Even if they don't, could you sneak a few up for me?"

"Sure thing," Marinette said, laughing. Tikki had an appetite for freshly-baked pastries, with cookies in particular being her favorite. She was lucky she lived in a bakery, otherwise there might have been more cause for alarm with how many pastries she was snatching.

As Marinette descended the ladder to the bakery, her parents were just closing up.

"How'd the day go?" she asked.

"Busy as always," Sabine replied, smiling. "We've got quite a reputation. And you?"

"Finished my work pretty quickly, so I wanted to come down and see if you guys needed any help with tomorrow's baking."

"We'd never say no to the help," Tom said, "but we've actually finished for the day. But we could wake you up early tomorrow so you can handle those gingerbread men your teacher asked for. They're for you and your friends anyway, and it'd let us focus on some of the bigger orders."

"Sure thing!" Marinette said. She snagged a few cookies from a nearby tray for Tikki, then climbed back up the ladder, closing the trapdoor behind her. "Here you go," she said, handing the cookies over to the kwami.

"Thanks, Marinette!" Tikki said, giggling as she dug into a chocolate chip-covered treat. "You know," she said between bites. "I was thinking about what you said about the other kids in your class and their lack of interest. Maybe there's something you could do to help."

Marinette raised an eyebrow. "Like what? I'm already bringing cookies to class."

Tikki flitted back and settled into a reclining position. "Not just any cookies, Marinette. These are gingerbread men. As in, cookies that people love to personalize. You see where I'm going with this?"

Marinette blinked and a grin spread across her face. "That's a good idea, Tikki!" she complemented. "Personalized gingerbread men sound perfect! I'm sure they're all going to love them! I'll get on it first thing in the morning!"

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Ms. Bustier continued grading papers and thinking up assignments into the night, growing more and more excited as she did so.

 _Compare and contrast Snow White's character in Snowdrop versus Snow-White and Rose-Red,_ she thought proudly as she flipped through her storybook. _Yes, that'll be perfect. And examining Cinderella stories from around the world will make for a whole week of lessons!_

She was snapped out of her reverie when her cellphone began to ring. Looking at the caller ID, she saw that it was Principal Damocles.

"Hello, principal," Ms. Bustier greeted. "How was the meeting?"

Principal Damocles heaved a deep sigh in response, and Ms. Bustier's face fell. Nobody ever sighs like that when they have good news.

"I'm afraid the budget has had some unexpected cuts, Caline," the principal said, his voice heavy with disappointment. "Mayor Bourgeois has shifted city funds, and not toward our school."

"You don't mean -?"

"Rest assured, Caline, you and the rest of the staff will remain employed and at your current salaries. But I'm afraid," he continued, sighing again, "that we can no longer afford any new courses."

Ms. Bustier was silent for a moment, then sat up straight, stunned. "No!" she objected, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. "Please, I've been petitioning this for months! You can't take it away when I'm so close!"

"Caline, this is for the best. Honestly, I was probably going to have to tell you 'no' anyway. There's just no real room for a course like that here, especially when you seem to be the only one interested in the subject."

"Please!" Ms. Bustier pled. "There must be a way for me to change your mind!"

"Believe me, I would be more than open to hear you try, but my misgivings aren't the reason the course is canceled; the funding is. I'm simply the messenger. I'm sorry, but I can't see a way for you to start this course."

The phone clicked off, and Ms. Bustier put it down absently. After a few moments, the tears started rolling down her cheeks in earnest. Just cognizant enough to close her storybook and push it slightly away, she collapsed onto her desk, weeping softly.

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Up in a tower room, surrounded by hundreds of white butterflies, a tall, gaunt man in a dark suit and a silver mask stared out a massive circular vaulted window.

"Yes," Hawk Moth, the man responsible for torturing Paris with his akumas, chuckled. "Conflict is truly the essence of all drama; no story can exist without it. No beloved character can ever have it easy. No, they must _earn_ their happy ending." He held out his hand, and a butterfly settled into it. He placed his other hand over the insect, concentrating dark energy within, and when he removed his hand, the butterfly was unharmed, but now black as ink.

"Fly, my little akuma, and evilize this fairytale dreamer!"

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Ms. Bustier kept sobbing, her head resting on the desk. Intellectually, she knew it was ridiculous to react like this. Things could have turned out much worse for her and for the other teachers. But she had been working on this course for months. She'd wanted to share her love of fairy tales with the students, to prove that they had as much value as other literature. And now it was to be taken away before it even began? It just hurt too much.

As she wept, her hand lying on her storybook, she failed to notice the small black butterfly flying in through the classroom window. It settled down on the book, glowing for a moment before dissolving into pitch-dark energy, which was then absorbed into the book. Suddenly, Ms. Bustier lifted her head off the desk, revealing the butterfly-shaped mask of light which appeared around her eyes.

" _Frau Märchen,_ " a voice said inside her mind, " _I am Hawk Moth. I shall grant you the power to transform the world into your own personal fairy tale. With it, you may take revenge on those who have wronged you, and control those who fail to understand the power that these stories have to offer. In return, however, I ask that you bring me the Miraculouses of Ladybug and Cat Noir. Do you accept this charge?"_

"Absolutely," she whispered, smiling. She stood up from her desk, grasping her book tightly as black energy spread from it, covering her entire body in darkness. After a few moments, the energy dissipated, leaving her looking entirely different.

"Ah, now this is power," Frau Märchen said, her voice bearing taken seductive undertones. With a flourish of her hand, she transformed her book into an ornate hand mirror, clear glass set in a gold frame with butterfly designs.

"Mirror mirror, if you know," she said, "show the faces of my foes."

With a flash of light, the mirror projected two screens into the air. Unfortunately, they were both practically blank, showing nothing but a ladybug on one and a black cat on the other, both with question marks next to them.

"Should have known it wouldn't be that easy," she muttered. "Oh well. I'll be fine to wait until tomorrow."

With a snap of her fingers, the mirror and screens disappeared, with the book taking their place. Another snap, and Frau Märchen's body was coated in darkness once more, fading to reveal Ms. Bustier's regular appearance, albeit with a sinister smirk still present.

"Now, there's no time to waste. I must get ready for tomorrow," she said.

Another butterfly-mask of light appeared over her eyes. " _And what is your plan, Frau Märchen?_ " Hawk Moth asked.

"Well, it's obvious, is it not?" she replied. "The best way to get Ladybug and Cat Noir to show up is to cause a disturbance. And I think that making this place the center of my kingdom will be a very big disturbance indeed."


	2. In a Castle Far, Far Away

**PA2: Sorry about the delay, everyone! Had to deal with some rather annoying computer problems. Thankfully, they're all resolved, so the next chapters should come out much faster.**

 _MP: Yeah, you say that now. What happens when there are chapters to write rather than just edit?_

 **PA2: Hence why we're working on these chapters in advance.**

 _MP: Delays happen. That's been proven. Anyway, the plot's off the ground here!_

 **PA2: Yep! And believe me, we had a lot of fun setting this up.**

 _MP: We had a lot of fun with the whole thing, really._

 **PA2: You can say that again.**

 _MP: I would, but I hate to repeat myself._

 **PA2: I knew that joke was coming and I still groaned. Anyway, let's get on with the fun. Read, review, and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 2: In a Castle Far, Far Away**

Marinette let out a scream as the flames rose higher. Panicking, she grabbed the baking soda and smothered the fire with it.

"What's going on over there, Marinette?" her dad called from the next room.

"Nothing!" Marinette yelled back. "Just...burned the first batch."

"Happens to the best of us, sweetheart!" her mother replied. "You have plenty of time! Just be more careful with the next one!"

"Right!" she said, turning down the oven before turning back to the leftover dough. "Alright, let's get going," she said to herself, Tikki being up in her room for now. "The sooner I finish, the more time I can have to decorate."

As Marinette began preparing the second batch, her mind began to wander off, wondering how her classmates' reports had turned out, Adrien's in particular. _I can't wait to find out what story he chose_ , she thought. _Rose has something romantic, for sure, and Chloe will definitely have chosen something with a princess, assuming she didn't make Sabrina come up with one for her. I bet Max chose something obscure, and Alya would choose a strong female protagonist._

She sighed as she kneaded the dough. _I just hope that they put some actual effort into it. Ms. Bustier deserves that much with how much she's wanted this course to get off the ground. The least we could do is treat it seriously._

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Adrien studied his report one last time as the students filed into class. It wasn't bad, though he wondered if he should've devoted more attention to the self-sacrificing aspect of the soldier's love for the ballerina. _Ah, well,_ he thought. _No time to fix it now._

Rose was the most excited of the class about the recent assignment. The sweet, big-eyed blonde was talking animatedly to her best friend Juleka about her paper. Adrien caught snippets of it. It sounded like Rose had chosen 'Sleeping Beauty' for a topic, fitting given her name. Surprisingly, Juleka also seemed excited. The dark-haired girl, normally so grim and gothic, had selected 'Snow White' for her story, and was busy comparing her story with Rose's.

On the other end of the spectrum, there was Chloe. As the mayor's daughter, she had a well-deserved reputation as a spoiled brat and catalyst for akumatizations, and it was clear that she had done practically nothing for the report. He could tell because she was loudly talking about doing her report on 'The Little Mermaid', but her extensive praise of the singing crab made it clear where her research _really_ came from.

Listening to her, Adrien sighed. Chloe, bottle-blonde and ever stylish, used to be his best and only friend, but ever since he started attending regular classes, he had grown to find closer, more meaningful relationships, and learned to see Chloe's more negative qualities.

Suddenly he felt an arm sling itself around his shoulders. "So, bro, what'd you pick for your report?" Nino Lahiffe, his best friend, asked. He was a copper-skinned boy who had his headphones on him at all times.

Smiling, he turned to Nino and held up his report. "'The Steadfast Tin Soldier'," he said. "It's something that really spoke to me when I was a kid, and still does today. And you?"

"'The Pied Piper of Hamelin'," Nino replied. "You know me; gotta pick the one with the music. It was that or 'Bremen Town Musicians', but cool as it was, it didn't actually have any singing in it."

"Sounds like you had an easier time choosing than I did," interrupted Alya, who walked over to join them. Her skin was a little lighter than Nino's, and she had a sly grin and sharp hazel eyes behind black-rimmed glasses. "I looked all night for something related to reporting, and the closest I could find was 'Henny Penny', showing the danger of hysteria and hearsay. But I was worried Ms. Bustier wouldn't see it as serious enough, so I ended up going with a much better role model."

"Oh, yeah?" Nino said, raising an eyebrow. "Who's that?"

Alya smiled and winked. "A girl's gotta have her secrets, Nino."

Adrien chuckled. After a moment, he looked around the classroom. "By the way, do you know where Marinette is?"

"She texted me a little while ago," Alya said. "She said that Ms. Bustier had her preparing a surprise for the class today, so she let her come in a few minutes late. Guess she wanted some treats to celebrate getting her new course started."

"Cool!" Nino commented. "I could go for something sweet right about now!"

"Don't worry, Mr. Lahiffe," came a voice from the front of the classroom. Turning, the three saw that while they were talking, Ms. Bustier had entered the room, carrying a huge copper-and-leather bound book. "You'll be getting your just desserts very soon," she continued, an uncharacteristic smirk on her face. "Now then, everyone please put your reports on the desk and then take your seats. Class is about to begin."

As the students formed a line to the front desk, Adrien nudged Nino's shoulder. "Is it just me, or is Ms. Bustier acting a bit...different today?" he said.

"Bro, she's been here for like ten seconds," Nino replied. "Isn't it a little early to be saying anything about her mood?"

"I don't know," Adrien said. "Something just doesn't feel right." He quickly handed in his report and walked back to his seat, sitting on its edge. He could have been overreacting, but if his hunch was right, he needed to be able to get out of the classroom fast.

Once everyone was seated, Ms. Bustier looked over the room. "Well now, looks like everyone's here but Marinette. I'd like to wait for her, but we need to get started immediately if I'm to accomplish everything in time."

"What do you mean, Ms. Bustier?" Rose asked. "Are you talking about going over our reports?"

"In a manner of speaking, my dear," Ms. Bustier said, looking over the pile of papers on the top of her desk. "Oh, but I'd prefer not to be called Ms. Bustier. Not anymore."

"Huh?" was all Adrien had to say before Ms. Bustier snapped her fingers. In an instant, her body was covered in a familiar black energy. Within seconds, the energy disappeared, revealing an entirely new entity standing in Ms. Bustier's place.

Like most supervillains, it resembled Ms. Bustier only superficially. Her skin was pasty white, as if covered with copious amounts of makeup, which accentuated her dark eyeshadow and ruby-red lips. Her familiar white jacket had transformed into a shimmering ball gown with tall, pointed shoulders, made of a velvety black cloth studded with white gems, creating the image of the night sky. Her fingers were adorned with rings, and around her neck she wore a golden necklace decorated with gemstones. Completing the ensemble was the silver tiara she wore atop her exquisitely styled black hair, with an amethyst butterfly as the centerpiece. Finally, the book she had been carrying was now bound in black leather and covered with various mystical symbols, making it look like an actual spellbook.

"Call me Frau Märchen," she said, her voice now with the sultry tones one would expect of a wicked queen. "And welcome to my world."

In a flash, Adrien had leapt from his seat, grabbed his backpack, and ran to the still-open door, with the other students following quickly behind. However, only Adrien managed to make it out before Frau Märchen snapped her fingers, causing it to slam shut behind him. She started cackling, opening her book and releasing a cloud of white mist which circled the pile of papers, obscuring it in a dense barrier of fog. The barrier remained in place for a moment, then exploded outward revealing an empty desk in the moment before the mist began to fill the room.

"No!" he yelled, turning back to see Nino frantically trying to open the door as the mist began to collect around him. He did the same, but to no avail.

"Hang on guys, I'll get you out of there!" he said.

"No, just run! Hurry, before she drags you into this!" Nino replied.

"Yeah!" Alya agreed. "Warn Marinette, and try and get word to Ladybug and Cat Noir! Whatever it is, we'll be fine!"

As much as it pained him to think it, they were right. If he didn't get out, not only could Marinette get caught up in all this, but there would be no Cat Noir on the scene to help Ladybug.

He still hesitated, but the decision was made for him as the mist surrounded his classmates, engulfing them completely. Adrien turned away, miserable but determined to stop the horror as quickly as possible.

"I'm so sorry, guys, but I'll fix this fast!" he said to himself. However, as he turned away from the door, the mist began seeping out, curling around his ankles. As soon as it touched his feet, one of them became paralyzed, curling upward behind his leg. His other leg became stiff and joined with the curled one, both legs then becoming thin and flat. Startled and unable to run, he hopped down the hallway, quickly ducking into the boys' restroom. He looked around, and after making sure no one was there, he opened his backpack. "Plagg, get out here! We need to transform now!"

"Ugh, can't a guy take a seven-hour nap?" Plagg groaned as he flitted out of the bag.

"Plagg, with all due respect, which is none, my classmates are trapped in a classroom with a wicked witch, and I'm losing the use of my legs! Now is not the time for jokes."

Plagg's eyes opened wide, and he looked over Adrien's legs. "Sounds like a big one," he said. "Be careful, Adrien. If this villain's powers are coming from where I think they're coming from, this might be one of your toughest fights yet."

"Have they ever come from anywhere else?"

"Not what I meant, kiddo," Plagg replied, shaking his head. "Hawk Moth's tapping into the power of storytelling. I can see it all over your legs. You did notice what the spell made you look like, right?"

Adrien thought for a moment, staring at his legs, then his eyes widened. "No way...you mean that-"

"You were almost turned into a tin soldier? That's exactly what I'm saying. If this villain knows what they're doing, they could cause some major damage with power like that. You need to be cautious," he said, uncharacteristically serious.

"Okay, look, I get that. But will transforming fix _this_?" Adrien said, pointing to his deformed legs. "If I show up to her with my legs like this, not only am I guaranteed to lose, but my secret identity's toast!"

Plagg sighed, then focused his gaze on Adrien's legs. After a few moments, he said, "It should. From what I can tell, the spell seems to be targeted on you specifically, but only as Adrien. The same magic that keeps people from recognizing you as Cat Noir should cause the spell to lose its effect. But that'll only work against spells trying to affect Adrien. It won't protect you against anything else she tries to throw at Cat Noir."

"Duly noted," Adrien said. "But I can't afford to wait for Ladybug to arrive. Not when my classmates are in danger. Plagg, claws out!"

Adrien held out his silver ring, and Plagg found himself sucked into it. The ring turned black, with a green pawprint symbol on it. Adrien ran a hand over his hair, and black cat ears sprouted. He swiped it over his eyes, and they turned dilated like a cat's, with a black domino mask covering them. As he moved, his normal day clothes transformed into a jet-black unitard. Black gloves covered his hands, and as his legs straightened out and regained mobility, matching boots replaced his shoes. A golden bell appeared around his neck, and a long black belt flew out behind him like a tail. Finally, a collapsed silver bo-staff appeared on his back. Despite his worry, he couldn't completely repress his grin. Transforming into Cat Noir never got old. With some trepidation, he struck a battle pose. As he'd hoped, his legs were back to normal.

"Alright, let's get going," he said to himself. He grabbed and extended his staff and rushed out of the bathroom, only to be shocked by the stampede of students and teachers from every direction, all headed directly for any and all exits. The white mist was now covering the hallway floor and spreading throughout the school. Mindful of what it had done before and in too much of a hurry to aid in the escape efforts, he began spinning his staff like a fan, blowing away as much as he could to clear a path, the terrified citizens absently parting out of his way as he raced back to the classroom. When he reached the classroom door, he considered using Cataclysm for a moment, but decided against it, simply slamming his staff into it. The door flew off its hinges, and Cat Noir rushed inside.

To his shock, the classroom was nearly empty. Frau Märchen was still there, but all of the students had completely disappeared, with no trace of them to be found.

"Ah, Cat Noir! I'm guessing my wayward student managed to find his way to you? Shame that he won't be able to join in on the festivities, but allowing him to get away half-transformed will definitely attract the attention I'm looking for. Besides, leading you here is a perfectly reasonable consolation prize," she said, smiling. Cat Noir couldn't repress a shudder at her tone. Not only was the sultry nature of her voice downright disturbing coming out of his teacher's mouth, but she spoke without a trace of malice or anger. Whatever frustration had led to her evilization, she wasn't letting it affect her scheming, and _that_ was dangerous.

"Where are they?!" he growled, brandishing his staff at her. "Where are the students?!"

"Oh, they're busy getting ready," she said. "They all had so much to do to prepare for Ladybug's arrival. Besides, I would think you'd be happy not to deal with any distractions at the moment. So, care to try your luck? See if you can end the story before it truly begins? Or will you just stand there while I work my magic on you?"

"What are you going to do?" he taunted. "Prick me with a spindle? Feed me a bad apple? Ruin my dress for the ball?"

"All classics, I must confess, but none of them quite seem good enough," she said. "I think I'll just settle for removing you from existence!"

With a snap of her fingers, Frau Märchen sent a bolt of what could only be described as stardust hurtling towards him.

Cat Noir quickly leapt out of the way, gasping as the bolt seared its way through the wall behind where he was standing.

"Yikes! That looks _paw_ -sitively dangerous, don't you think?" he asked, extending his staff in an attempt to strike her. "One strike from that and I'd be blasted to table scraps!"

"That's the whole idea, child!" she replied as she danced out of the way of his strikes. "You can't stop me from taking that ring of yours if you're dead, after all! Besides, you know just how gory old-fashioned fairy tales can be!"

More snaps sent more bolts this way, and Cat Noir ducked and bounced across the desks as he weaved his way through them. "Getting a little repetitive, aren't we?" he taunted.

"You can't expect me to use my whole repertoire when the protagonist hasn't even entered the scene!" she said as the blasts continued.

Cat Noir continued to duck and weave, flinging himself all around the classroom, but Frau Märchen left him no openings to attack. Despite using only a single move, she used it with incredible skill.

 _I can't keep wasting time here!_ he thought. _I've gotta get out and rendezvous with Ladybug before this gets too out of hand!_

Quickly turning, he ran through the open door and out into the hallway, the white mist filling more and more of the corridors. "Catch me if you can!" he taunted as he raced off, using his staff to clear a path once more.

Frau Märchen just chuckled. "You can run, but you can't hide," she mused softly, conjuring her magic mirror. "In my castle, I see all, I know all, and most importantly, I rule all."

She cackled wildly as the mist continued to spread in all directions, blanketing the halls in white fog. Whatever it touched began to transform, the smooth wood into brick and mortar, the electric lights into wall sconces and torches. All modern conveniences melted away, leaving behind the makings of a medieval castle. But the transformation was far from over.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Outside the school, Marinette was running, her completed gingerbread men stored in a basket over her right shoulder. "I can't believe how late it is!" she groaned. "Ms. Bustier is _not_ going to be happy about this!"

"Don't worry, Marinette!" Tikki piped up from inside Marinette's purse. "It may have taken four batches, but I'm sure Ms. Bustier will appreciate the final result!"

At that, Marinette smiled. It _had_ taken a lot of work, but she had not only completed all two dozen gingerbread men, but she had decorated the majority of them to resemble her classmates, her teachers, and even Principal Damocles. Plus, Tikki's scarfing down the rejected batches proved that they tasted as good as they looked.

"You're right, Tikki. These are going to be a huge hit, and a perfect way to celebrate Ms. Bustier's new course!" she said. As she ran up to the school, however, she noticed something odd.

Slowing to a stop, she stared at the white mist currently seeping from every door and window in the school. "Um, Tikki? I think that we just stumbled into the work of Hawk Moth's newest akuma," she said, opening her bag to let Tikki take a look.

Tikki poked her head out of Marinette's bag and gasped. "This is very powerful magic!" she said. "Marinette, get back!"

"Why?" she asked as she stepped backwards. But she got her answer a moment later, for the second she did so, the entire school became covered in the mist. For a few moments, it sat there, a cloud hiding the entire building from view. When it faded, Marinette's jaw dropped.

Where College Francoise Dupont had stood, there was now a palace that would fit right at home in any fairy tale. Its walls were shimmering white marble, with towers stretching up into the sky, each one different in design and composition, each one a work of art. Stained glass windows were all over, and the doors were towering affairs, made of what appeared to be burnished gold covered in mystical etchings. Hanging from the towers were deep black banners with the herald of an ornate purple butterfly in the center. And the highest tower was topped with a spire of black stone, with a silver weathervane in the shape of a witch riding a broomstick perched at the top. While white mist still curled around the base of the castle, it was also slowly moving outward in all directions.

"What the…?" Marinette whispered, awestruck and terrified. She'd never seen a villain capable of constructing this elaborate of a structure before.

"Do you like my work?" came a voice from behind her. Whirling around, Marinette's eyes widened as she saw a figure so strangely dressed that she had to be Hawk Moth's new villain. What was more, even with all the physical changes, she recognized her almost instantly.

"Ms. Bustier?" she asked, thankful that Tikki had ducked back into her bag after giving her the warning. Bad enough to be confronted by a supervillain out of costume, but if she found out the truth, she'd be in even worse shape.

"Ah ah ah," she said, waggling her finger. "It's Frau Märchen now, my darling. And I believe you have something for me."

"Um, you mean the gingerbread men?" she asked, hesitantly. "Y-you can have them if you want," she continued, holding the basket out.

"Oh no, dear. I can't take them," Frau Märchen replied. "After all, I'm not really here. It would hardly do for the queen to leave her castle before her kingdom is complete. This is just an illusion." To demonstrate, she twirled around, revealing the slight transparency of her image. "I'll just have you hand it over to my servant."

"Your servant?" Marinette repeated, only to hear a growl coming from behind her. Turning, Marinette saw what looked like a giant bipedal wolf leering at her. The wolf had mottled brown fur, brown eyes, and was wearing only a tattered purple pair of shorts.

"This was once one of Marie's students. Jean Duparc, I think it was," Marinette heard Frau Märchen say from behind her. "He seemed like a perfectly suitable servant, so I decided to make him into my very own Big Bad Wolf. Now, I'm afraid he has as much a taste for flesh as he does for sweets, so if you want to stay alive, I'd suggest you run," she said calmly, before abruptly and terrifyingly breaking into a wicked cackle.

"My, my," the wolf purred, inching closer to Marinette. He stuck his snout forward, sniffing at her basket. "That's a fine basket of goodies you have there. Why don't I take it off your hands? And while I'm at it, I'll take a bite out of you as well!"

Panicking, Marinette tossed the basket, drilling it into the wolfman's chest. The cookies spilled out onto the ground, among them the perfect gingerbread representations of Marinette's classmates and teachers. The mist swirled around them, and as it did, the little men and women sprung up, giggling and running in circles. The wolf, licking his chops, chased after them, snatching up the ones modeled after Ms. Mendeleiev and Mr. D'Argencourt in his jaws as Marinette ran off.

"After her, you fool!" Frau Märchen ordered. "I need every servant I can get to defeat Ladybug!"

The wolf growled, got down on all fours, and bolted forward, chasing Marinette down the street as Frau Märchen's image vanished. Marinette swerved as best she could, trying to outmaneuver the beast, but he was persistent, and showed no signs of tiring. The chaos went on for minutes, but even as the transformed school grew farther away, Marinette still couldn't escape her pursuer. Desperate, Marinette escaped into an alley, kicking over a trash can behind her. She grabbed onto the ladder of a nearby fire escape as the wolf leaped over the refuse, desperate to climb after her. To his frustration, his claws were not built for climbing.

"Why don't you try huffing and puffing and blowing me down?!" Marinette taunted as she climbed further up.

"Wrong wolf, you little brat!" the wolf yelled up at her. "I'm much better than that two-bit has-been!" Secretly, Marinette smiled. Looks like Ms. Bustier's intense fairy tale knowledge had been passed along to Frau Märchen and her minions.

"My, what a big ego you have!" she yelled back. With a grunt, she pulled out her science textbook and threw it straight down. It struck the wolf right on the head, but all it did was make him grumble in irritation.

"Well, so much for that," Marinette muttered. However, just when she was about to grab another textbook, a black clad form vaulted overhead.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" said Cat Noir as he fell towards the wolf, his bo-staff extended. With a single hit, the beast was downed, leaving Cat Noir posing proudly over the unconscious minion.

"Thanks for the save," Marinette said, coming down from the ladder and smiling at the superhero. "Where's Ladybug?" she asked. _Like I don't know already_ , she thought.

"No clue," he replied, the grin fading from his face, replaced with a grim expression. "I was actually trying to find her when I stumbled on you. But I can't stay long. I have to head back to that castle before things get worse. And with the girl who runs the Ladyblog in this villain's clutches, I don't know how I'm going to get the word out to her."

Marinette gulped, fighting to keep the tears from her eyes. _Alya…_ , she thought. Out loud, she said, "I think I can find a way to let her know."

"Great," Cat Noir said. "If you can, tell her to meet me at that new eyesore on the Paris skyline. I'll be waiting outside for her before I take on the wicked witch. Then get somewhere safe. Something tells me this is going to get worse before it gets better." With that, he leapt back over Marinette's head and bounded away over the rooftops, leaving Marinette alone with the unconscious wolf, who soon disappeared into mist, much to Marinette's surprise.

"Where did he...can't worry about that right now. You heard him, my little fairy godmother," Marinette said into her bag. "Tikki, spots on!"

With a twirl, Tikki flew out of Marinette's bag and into one of her earrings, causing the accessories to turn from black to bright red. Soon after, five black spots appeared on them. Marinette ran her hands over her eyes, and a red domino mask covered them. She extended her arms and spun as a red unitard with black spots replaced her outfit. Her magic yo-yo appeared at her side, its string wrapped around her waist to hold it in place. Without another word, Ladybug pulled out the yo-yo and, using it like a grappling hook, hoisted herself to the rooftops and took off running back the way she came.

As Ladybug traveled, she saw the mist continue to spread. So far it hadn't much farther than the school-turned-castle, but its presence was noticeable. Everything it covered reverted to an old-fashioned version of itself. Nearby cars became horse-drawn carriages. Trash cans morphed into barrels. As she got closer to the school, she noticed that the resulting creations were fancier, more ornate, and just generally seemed like they belonged in a fairy tale.

 _Whatever this mist is, it seems to take things back in time first, then makes them fairy tale-like_ , she thought. _But why doesn't it just do it all at once?_

When Ladybug reached the castle, she saw Cat Noir waiting for her on one of the turrets, posing as a stained-glass image.

"What are you doing?" she asked, dropping down next to him.

"Haven't you heard of life imitating art?" he joked in response.

Ladybug sighed. _Same old Cat Noir_ , she thought. Out loud, she said, "Is this really the time?"

"It's always time for a good joke, Milady," he replied, grinning. His grin quickly faded, however, replaced by a serious expression. "You up to speed?"

"Yeah, Marinette told me what she knew when she found me," Ladybug answered. "New villain's named Frau Märchen. She's trying to turn Paris into a fairy tale kingdom, and she can turn people into minions."

"Pretty much," Cat Noir said. "Apparently, she was one of the teachers here. I tried fighting her off earlier, but she was too tough. I was barely able to make it out."

"That strong, huh?" Ladybug mused. "Well, let's see if she can handle the two of us together. Up for a little breaking and entering?"

"Not going to work," he replied, before banging his hand against the window. To Ladybug's surprise, the window not only didn't break, but it didn't even crack. He demonstrated again with his bo staff, to no better effect. "I already tried that before you got here, just to save time. All of the windows are this tough, and it's too risky to use Cataclysm just to get inside."

"So, how are we supposed to get in?" Ladybug asked.

"Well, there's the front door." Cat Noir said, pointing down. "We'd lose the element of surprise, but she seems like the type who'd let us in. She probably likes the challenge."

"Well then, let's not disappoint her," Ladybug said. She whipped out her yo-yo, and she and Cat Noir rappelled down the palace wall, quickly arriving at the giant golden doors.

Ladybug stepped forward and lightly pushed against the doors to test their strength. She nearly fell over when the doors swung in, opening wide to reveal a darkened entryway.

"Well, that was easy," she said. Turning to Cat Noir, she asked, "Can you see anything in there?"

Cat Noir scanned the hall with his night vision. "Nope," he replied, leaning in. "This darkness must be magic, because I can't make out anything. I also can't hear any movement, but that could just mean there's nothing to hear. I can't be sure one way or the other."

"Why am I not surprised?" Ladybug muttered. "Well, let's head in. No point in waiting around out here."

With that, the two heroes stepped through the colossal doors, barely reacting as they shut behind them, plunging them into darkness.

Ladybug sighed. "I honestly don't know what I was expecting. So, Cat, I'm guessing this means…?"

"I'm afraid so, Milady," he replied, grunting as he tried to force the doors back open. "Until we beat this villain, we're stuck in here."


	3. There Was a Wicked Witch

_MP: We're now getting into the real meat of the story. And, much like a burrito, that's where it gets interesting._

 **PA2: I swear, your analogies get weirder every day...Anyway, quick FYI; this chapter contains spoilers for the beginning of Season 2. Most of you readers probably know what I'm talking about, but those who don't, you've been warned.**

 _MP: And to those same people, I feel ashamed to be associated with fans who can't be bothered with this info._

 **PA2: Please don't shame our readers. They're too valuable…I mean important.**

 _MP: Shame is how you learn. Ask any Catholic school._

 **PA2: And I think we should wrap this up before you insult anyone else. Happy reading!**

 _MP: Follow, fave, and review if you can! And seriously, watch Season 2!_

 **Chapter 3: There Was a Wicked Witch**

Across town, in city hall, Mayor Andre Bourgeois was just sitting down with a cup of coffee, ready to go over some important paperwork. He was a larger-than-average man, with a long face and a double chin. Nobody would judge him on appearance alone, though, for he'd been elected and reelected to his important position. Still, he dressed himself up in fine grey suits and red ties, and proudly wore a red, white, and blue sash as a sign of his position.

The mayor took a long sip of his drink, but was soon distracted by a tap at the window. He turned aside to find a very strange sight - a huge screech owl, brown and grey in color, with big yellow eyes and what looked like a fluffed up ring of brown feathers around its neck. It was pecking at the window, beating its wings impatiently.

Raising an eyebrow, the mayor moved over to the window to shoo it away. He rapped his finger against the glass, but the owl wouldn't move. He slapped his hand against it, but the bird simply splayed out its wings and hooted louder. He even prepared to punch the glass, but the bird stared back at him, almost challenging him to cut his hand open. Finally, annoyed, he pulled the window wide open, prepared to yell at the obnoxious animal, when it simply flitted into the room and landed directly on his mahogany desk. Still staring at him, it held out its talon and revealed a scroll tied to its leg.

"Is this from the Ministry of Magic?" the mayor asked nobody in particular. Too bad Chloe wasn't here; she was the reason he knew about _Harry Potter_ in the first place.

The bird hooted in indignation and hopped closer to him. On closer inspection, Mayor Bourgeois realized, the ring of brown feathers around its neck was actually a cravat. Now intrigued, he took the scroll and opened it wide. It wasn't paper, but a shimmering, reflective surface, and there was neither print nor pictures upon it. As he stared, a face leapt from the page, that of a coldly beautiful woman that bore a slight resemblance to Chloe's homeroom teacher. She was wearing a silver tiara with an amethyst butterfly on top.

" _Greetings, Mayor Bourgeois,_ " the face said, her voice echoing oddly. " _I am Frau Märchen, and I have sent this message to inform you that your city is now mine._ "

"What?!" Mayor Bourgeois yelled, but the face did not react. It seemed that despite its lifelike nature, the message was pre-recorded.

" _As we speak, my magic is transforming Paris into my very own fairy tale kingdom, and there is nothing you can do to stop it,_ " she continued, smirking. _"That said, I am offering you a deal: Surrender to me, and I can guarantee that you and your daughter will live happily ever after. Refuse, and you'll be lucky if I let you be my court jester. You have until sunset to respond via my messenger. Until then, I'll leave you and your office untouched, provided that my contract remains in similar condition. After that, all of Paris will be under my spell. And just so you know that I'm serious, take a closer look at that owl. Does he seem familiar?"_

The hologram cackled as an image of Principal Damocles erupted into being beside it. Mayor Bourgeois looked back and forth between it and the owl in horror. The avian messenger was a dead ringer for the principal.

With one more laugh, the hologram exploded into sparkles, and the scroll fell gently to the floor, now bearing what looked like a handwritten contract with an empty signature line. Gingerly picking it up, Mayor Bourgeois saw that it basically outlined the terms and conditions of his surrender, with instructions to sign it when ready to submit.

Reading the contract, Mayor Bourgeois sank heavily into his armchair. The owl was giving him dirty looks, which made the resemblance to Principal Damocles all the clearer. As the contract dropped from his nerveless fingers, he only had one thing to say.

Clasping his hands together, he yelled, "Ladybug, save me!"

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Cat Noir led the way through the darkened corridor, Ladybug holding onto his shoulder. The two kept as silent as they could, lest Frau Märchen overhear. Their every nerve was on edge, primed for an ambush from the witch.

But as the two walked on, it seemed increasingly unlikely that that would happen. Finally working up the courage to speak, Ladybug asked "Is it just me, or is this room bigger than it has any right to be?"

"Frau Märchen's magic is weird stuff," Cat Noir replied. "She's remodeled the entire school into a castle. I wouldn't be surprised if she could make an endless hallway."

"But where is she? Shouldn't she be trying to fight us?"

"I'm sure she's planning something," Cat Noir replied. "But she's probably doing it from somewhere else. We've just got to search the place."

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "That'd be a lot easier if we could see anything."

As they kept walking, their ears perked up. Something else was there. It was small, but it was there. And it was moving. Something was skittering around the floor.

"What was that?" Ladybug asked.

The answer didn't come from Cat Noir.

"Run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!"

Indeed, something was in the room, running around on light feet. Not far off, Ladybug figured from the sound of its voice. She noticed that it sounded familiar, too. Was that Nathaniel's voice?

A bolt of inspiration hit Ladybug. She pulled out her yo-yo and spun it in a tight circle. As it moved, the weapon cast a dim light, revealing the speaker to be one of her cookies. Her Nathaniel cookie to be precise, darting through the shadows, looking irrepressibly chipper.

As Ladybug and Cat Noir stared at the living pastry, the cookie kept running, then began its little song again.

"Run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch-"

 _Chomp!_

Something caught the gingerbread man. Bit its head off, too, if the sound was any indication.

There were two more big _chomps_ , and more skittering. The cookie was gone, but its killer was nearby, and from the sound of it was fleeing right out of the room. Following the sound, Cat Noir led Ladybug down a previously unnoticed side passage, sprinting toward the retreating sound of tiny footsteps. As they moved, another sound caught their ears: flute music. The volume increased as they went, and more creatures were moving around in the darkness, circling and keeping pace with them. Now the heroes could see tiny yellow eyes glowing in the dark.

"Rats!" Ladybug exclaimed. "Those things are rats!"

Cat Noir laughed. "This is her idea of an ambush? I'm a cat! She just set out a buffet!"

The two kept moving regardless, while the flute music kept getting louder and the rats' numbers increased. They grew bolder, too, rushing at the heroes and nipping at their shoes. Ladybug kept jumping to avoid them, until Cat Noir kicked one into a wall. The duo ran through an open doorway, and the door slammed shut behind them. While the room was pitch black, the chittering of rats let them know that they were surrounded.

"We know you're here, Frau Märchen!" the black-clad hero called. "Cut the gimmicks and turn on the lights!"

There was a wicked laugh, and it sounded nothing like Frau Märchen's. This one was deeper - male, in fact. It sounded like a familiar young man.

"Sorry," Nino's voice apologized. "She's not here. But she sent _us_ to welcome you! Attack, my pets!"

The flute music continued as the rats rushed at the group. Cat Noir pounced on them wherever he heard movement, and Ladybug spun her yo-yo as a shield. In what little light she had, she could tell that there were scores, maybe hundreds of rats, each one as big as a rabbit, with bright eyes and sharp fangs. Nino was in a corner of the room, playing an ornate silver flute. He was dressed in gaudy jester's robes of clashing red and yellow checkerboard, with green spots all over. With their bright colors, they stood out like a torch in the darkened space.

"You won't beat me with snacks!" Cat Noir bragged, effortlessly catching rats and tossing them into walls.

"Good thing he has backup!" cried another voice. Marinette turned and shy, red-haired Nathaniel jumped out from behind what seemed to be some sort of pillar. Now he was dressed in a tunic that perfectly mimicked the color of his hair, and he was holding an angry-looking goose with bright golden feathers, illuminating him like his own personal spotlight. The goose let out a honk as he plucked out a handful of the gilded feathers and flung them at the heroes. His aim was good, and the feathers landed all over the heroes' costumes. However, they fell with delicate softness, and while they did stick to the costumes, they didn't actually seem to hurt at all.

The two looked down at the feathers, then back up at Nathaniel. "Okay, was this supposed to do anything?" Ladybug asked. It was true; even after several seconds, the feathers hadn't done anything. What's more, their glow actually provided them a little more light. Not much, but enough that they could clearly discern both the size of the room and the extent of the rat forces surrounding them, both of which were fairly large.

"Simpleton, you idiot!" the Pied Piper yelled. "She's right! What good was that supposed to do?"

"Sorry, Pied Piper!" Nathaniel, or Simpleton rather, replied. "I just wanted to help!"

"In that case, you can help yourself to a beating!" Cat Noir said, moving to charge the two. However, he put his foot down on a rat, which squeaked and ran off, throwing off his balance and sending him stumbling back and landing flat on his back.

Ladybug lunged ahead of him, still spinning her yo-yo, as the Pied Piper trilled his flute and a wave of rodents converged around him. The wretched vermin swarmed together, piling up and creating a wall to repel the hero. She was thrown back, landing directly on top of Cat Noir, who had been trying to get back on his feet.

"Sorry!" she said, turning her head to face his. "Are you alright?"

"Just fine," Cat Noir replied. "Let's just get back to the fight!"

"Yep!" she said, pushing herself upward. However, as she got to her feet, she found herself feeling...heavier. Almost like a hundred-pound weight had been attached to her back.

"Um, Ladybug? I think we might have a problem," came Cat Noir's voice from right next to her ear. Turning her head, she gasped when she saw Cat Noir's face from the corner of her eye. Somehow, the two heroes had become stuck together.

"What the-?" Ladybug asked, trying to dislodge the cat-themed superhero from her back. Cat Noir also struggled to remove himself, without success.

"That's the power of my golden goose down!" Simpleton chuckled. "Anyone who touches it but me becomes stuck fast! I was just waiting for you two to trip up, and now you've gotten yourselves into a sticky situation!"

Both Ladybug and Cat Noir groaned at the pun, with Ladybug giving her partner an odd look, or as much of one as she could manage with him stuck to her back, at he did so.

"What? That one was way too obvious! I have _some_ taste, you know," he said, rolling his eyes. Turning his gaze at the Pied Piper, he continued, "And I'm guessing that little outburst was just your way of tricking us?"

"Precisely," he replied. "We figured the best way to trap you was to pretend it was worthless. And now that you're practically paralyzed, it's time to e- _rat_ -icate you!"

The Pied Piper played his flute again, and the rats came in waves, gnashing their sharp little teeth.

"On the count of three, jump!" Ladybug cried. She could feel Cat Noir nodding. "Ready...three!"

The two sprung up, nearly hitting the ceiling from the combined power, Ladybug knocking away any rat that came near with a spin of her yo-yo. As they fell, Simpleton ripped more feathers from his golden bird and threw them at the floor beneath the pair. Ladybug saw them coming and, using all of her acrobatic skill, managed to touch down with only a single foot. Unfortunately, that single foot still landed on a feather, and try as she might, she could not remove it from the floor.

"I can't move!" Ladybug complained. "And if I stop spinning my yo-yo, we'll be swarmed in seconds!"

"I'd help you," Cat Noir offered, "but I can barely see anything with your head in the way!"

The Pied Piper laughed hysterically at this. "Finish them, my pets!" he shouted, returning to his flute. The rats reared up like soldiers, marching toward the two practically paralyzed heroes.

"Swipe your staff right in front of us!" Ladybug screamed.

Cat Noir obliged, awkwardly reaching in front of Ladybug and swinging his weapon with both hands clasped together, knocking away rats with each blow. Despite the uncomfortable grip, he sent back wave after wave. While they weren't making any new ground, they were at least surviving.

"No, aim higher!"

"Can do!" Cat Noir replied, extending his staff out and swinging it farther than before. With each swing he extended it further and further, until finally it struck the Pied Piper in the kneecap, causing the boy to cry out in agony.

 _Gotta make this count!_ , Ladybug thought, winding up her yo-yo as she stared at Simpleton. With one good throw, she sent her yo-yo flying at him. It wrapped around his goose, and she swung it to the side, sending it hurtling into the Piper. Simpleton, still holding the goose, crashed into his ally, and the goose slammed into the Piper's face just as he removed his flute from his mouth to scream. Simpleton tried to pull the goose away, but the goose remained in place. He couldn't even let go of the animal.

"Dig in your heels!" Ladybug ordered, and Cat Noir obliged. She yanked on her weapon again, and the yo-yo, still bonded to the goose and the two villains, flew toward her, only for Cat Noir to bat them right back with his retracted staff, sending them crashing into a wall.

As they collapsed into an unconscious heap, cracking the flute underneath them, Ladybug felt the weight disappear from her back. Cat Noir's feet hit the floor behind her, and Ladybug sighed with relief as both her yo-yo and her foot came unstuck from the goose's feathers. Looking around as she reeled her weapon back in, she saw the rats scurrying off, disappearing into the darkness. Annoyed, the goose waddled out of the room as well, now freed from its master. Finally, the villains themselves dissolved into the darkness, vanishing from view.

"Well, glad that's taken care of," Cat Noir said. "So, ready to move on?"

"Don't be so hasty, Cat Noir," came a familiar voice. "I doubt you'd want to leave before you've heard the rules of my little game."

In a flash of light, Frau Märchen's holographic image appeared, glowing in the still-darkened room.

"Frau Märchen!" Ladybug yelled.

"Yes, it's me," she replied dismissively. "Must you restate the obvious? It's insulting to all of our intelligences."

"Why don't you come out and face us yourself?!" Cat Noir shouted. "We'd love to have this conversation up close and personal!"

"Oh, but that would defeat the whole point of my challenge!" Frau Märchen said, grinning. With a snap of her fingers, the room was filled with light, forcing Ladybug and Cat Noir to shield their eyes. When they could look again, they were shocked.

While the room they had fought the minions in had been too dark to see anything, it certainly hadn't looked anything like this one. They and Frau Märchen's image were now in what looked like a colossal circular antechamber made entirely out of purple marble, covered with richly colored illustrations of various fairy tales, alongside murals of butterflies. Surrounding the heroes on all sides were doors, each one uniquely designed and as much a work of art as anything else in Frau Märchen's palace. Topping off the opulent display was the crystal chandelier hanging from the domed ceiling, filling the room with light.

"Do you enjoy the look of my palace?" Frau Märchen said. "I find that impossible displays of wealth and beauty are perfect for expressing a monarch's power."

"Well, it's certainly gaudy, I'll give it that," Ladybug said. "Now, what's this you said about a challenge?"

"Oh, I'm so glad you asked!" Frau Märchen said, clapping her hands together. "My challenge is a simple one, really. All you have to do is find me."

"Huh?" Cat Noir asked. "Find you?"

"Yes my dear puss, find me," she replied. "As you can see, I have not chosen to grace you with my presence at the moment. Quite simply, it's because you are not worthy of it, nor are you worthy of challenging me for my kingdom. However, if you manage to find my hiding place inside this castle, then you will have earned the right to do battle with me."

"Really? That's it?" Ladybug asked, confused.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that, my sweet little bug," Frau Märchen said, grinning. "After all, there are ever so many rooms and towers in my palace, and you never know when you could find one of my beloved champions - or something even nastier."

"Wait, you mean to tell me that you turned everyone here into your fairy tale minions?!" Cat Noir yelled.

"You'll just have to find out for yourself," she said, smirking. "Now then, do you accept? Not that you have a choice in the matter, but I would like verbal consent."

"Fine," Ladybug growled. "We'll take your challenge. And when we find you, we're going to beat you down!"

"Excellent!" Frau Märchen said. "Then let the game begin!" Her image faded out for a moment, but then faded back in. "Oh, I almost forgot! You have until sundown to complete this challenge. Fail to do so by then, and you forfeit your Miraculouses _and_ your beloved city of Paris."

"You never said anything about that!" Ladybug snapped.

"It's hardly my fault that you didn't ask for all the rules first," Frau Märchen said, a sick grin on her face. With a snap of her holographic fingers, an hourglass appeared in the center of the room, with grains of sand trickling down impossibly slowly. The bottom half was already about an eighth of the way filled. "Once all the sand in that hourglass reaches the bottom, you will have run out of time. Happy hunting, oh brave heroes!" she said, before breaking into a maniacal cackle as her image faded completely.

The two heroes looked at each other for a moment, before sighing. "Well, I think we can guess where she's holed up," Cat Noir said.

"Agreed," Ladybug replied. "It's gotta be the highest room of the tallest tower, right? Question is, how to we get there from here?"

"Well, our best bet is to pick a door and follow it until we can't follow it anymore," Cat Noir explained, walking towards a random door. "This place doesn't seem to conform to logical geography."

"It's a start, at least," Ladybug said, following Cat Noir to his door of choice. "At least we still have plenty of time until sundown," she continued, glancing over at the hourglass.

"Right," Cat Noir replied, opening the door to reveal what appeared to be a forest of fir trees. Peering in, he blinked, saying, "Honestly, this isn't as surprising as it should be. After you, Milady," he finished, stepping aside.

Nodding, Ladybug stepped through the door and Cat Noir followed her, shutting it behind him.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

" _Frau Märchen, what exactly are you doing?"_ Hawk Moth's voice said from inside Frau Märchen's mind. The villain in question was reclining on her throne, looking at a wall-mounted mirror showing the heroes walking through the forest. Hanging on the walls around her were dozens of tapestries, practically all of them blank white cloth, but three of which featured the Big Bad Wolf, the Pied Piper and Simpleton, all in action poses amid elegantly and thematically appropriate scenery. " _Why aren't you striking the two of them down now?_ "

"Several reasons, Hawk Moth," Frau Märchen replied. "Transforming Paris is taking a great deal of magic. I put in the extra effort to use two spells, one to take it back in time and another to truly make it a fairy tale kingdom, and it's still taking most of my energy to keep it going."

" _That can wait. Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculouses cannot! They could stumble upon your lair any moment now, and then where will you be?_ "

"I beg to differ," she said, smiling. "With all the diversions I've placed in their way, they'll likely be busy until sundown. And even if they're not, I'll still have plenty of time to get ready."

" _You mean to say that there_ is _a chance that they could find you? That you're not hiding out someplace they'll never be able to reach?"_

"Of course there is. What kind of story would it be if the heroes have no way of winning?" Frau Märchen asked rhetorically. "Honestly, I'd be perfectly happy if they failed, but the most important thing is that my guardians make it hard for them. After all," she continued, a slow smile appearing on her face, "the more difficult the trial, the more powerful the villain who lies behind it."

" _And none of that actually answers my question. Why, exactly, are you not attacking them now?"_

"If you must know, Hawk Moth, the powers that _you_ gave me have their limitations. As long as my spell over Paris spreads, my power increases. Unfortunately, this room is my focal point. If I am to properly gather power, I must stay right here. Leaving would force me to start over. Have faith, though. My enforcers are more than capable of handling these intruders."

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Back in his lair, Hawk Moth growled at the continued insubordination. "Very well," he grumbled. "I suppose you've earned the benefit of the doubt. But I will be back in contact shortly," he finished, severing the mental connection between them.

Walking towards the middle of the room, he shouted, "Nooroo, dark wings fold!" In a flash of light, Hawk Moth resumed his regular identity of Gabriel Agreste, Paris's premiere fashion icon. As he did, a purple kwami with butterfly wings flew out of the brooch on his candy cane-striped cravat.

"Nooroo, maintain the evilization until I transform again," he said as he straightened out his bright white suit. "Luckily, I don't need to keep in the public eye like for Simon Says, so I'll take the burden off your hands shortly."

"Yes, master," the kwami trembled. "But please, I beg you to reconsider this plan! The power of stories is a dangerous thing in the wrong hands. This akuma may be more than you can handle!"

"Hence the extra precautions I'm taking," Gabriel replied coldly. "Despite what you may believe, I've learned my lesson from Robustus. I will not let one of my minions get the better of me again!"

Sighing, the kwami flew into a fashionable satchel hanging from the wall, surrounded by white butterflies. Gabriel slung it over his arm and then pressed a nearby button. In an instant, the floor beneath Gabriel opened up and he was whooshed from his villainous lair to his home office, being lifted up by a cleverly concealed mechanism and deposited right in front of an exquisitely crafted impressionist piece of his late wife.

"Nathalie!" he snapped at his assistant, a serious-looking woman in a dark suit who had been standing nearby. "Prepare the limo. We must go beyond the city limits, and quickly."

"Yes, Mr. Agreste," Nathalie said coolly. "I released press about a countryside fashion exhibition late last night, and have been in the process of amassing press and fellow fashion icons. By the time we leave, it should be ready to attend."

"Excellent," he replied, smiling slightly at his assistant's efficiency. "Let's go. I have no intention to be around here when Frau Märchen's influence reaches its apex."

As Nathalie walked off, Gabriel stayed staring at the painting. _Nooroo may not be wrong,_ he thought. _I am definitely playing with forces that I've never touched before. But no risk is too great. I must have those Miraculouses_ , he continued, clenching his fist tightly. _No matter what it ends up costing me!_


	4. Who Cast an Evil Spell on the Land

**PA2: And welcome back to Cuphead, Ladybug edition! Or Mega Man, pick your reference.**

 _MP: It's a regular Boss Rush, all right. And we're your color commentators, MultiplePersonas and PA2. PA2, why don't you recap for us?_

 **PA2: Always happy to provide a completely unnecessary recap. Basically, Ladybug and Cat Noir have until sundown to find Frau Märchen in her maze of a palace and beat her. If they don't they lose their Miraculouses. Anything to add, MP?**

 _MP: Only that Frau Märchen's spell is spreading across the city, and the more it does, the more powerful she becomes!_

 **PA2: Right, right. Figures she can't wait until she actually _wins_** **to start taking the prize.**

 _MP: A lot of people would call that "smart"._

 **PA2: Never said it wasn't smart, just that it wasn't fair. Anyway, another shorter chapter for you this time. There's only so much action you can put in one chapter before it starts to get stale. Better to have smaller and tighter chapters than ones that go from fight to fight to fight to fight to fight…**

 _MP: Don't mind him. He's just desperately trying to pad out the length._

 **PA2: ...to fight to fight to fight to this joke's gone on long enough, let's get to the main event!**

 _MP: And please, fave, follow, and review!_

 **Chapter 4: Who Cast an Evil Spell on the Land**

"Kim! Alix! Where are you?" Ladybug yelled, her hands cupped around her mouth. Not five minutes after she and Cat Noir had stepped into the forest, they had heard the voices of the two students. Since then, they'd been searching through the forest and getting nowhere.

"Don't worry! It's Ladybug and Cat Noir! We can help you!" Cat Noir continued, looking around to see if he could spot them. But he saw only densely grouped trees as far as the eye could see.

"Hurry!" Alix screamed. "She could be back any time now!"

"And she said she was going to bake us into pies when she did!" Kim cried. "Help us!"

Ladybug and Cat Noir looked at each other. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Ladybug asked.

"Yeah. There's no way Frau Märchen would show up right when we just started," Cat Noir replied. "The two of them must be bait."

"Well, I think we can take the witch from Hansel and Gretel," Ladybug said. "Just be careful. She probably has some sort of fire ability. We can't take that lightly."

"No worries, Ladybug," Cat Noir said with a grin. "I'll be careful, as long as you do the same. I'd hate to see a beautiful young woman like yourself get her skin singed."

Ladybug groaned. "Just focus on saving the kids, _Cat_ -sanova," she said, grinning at having preempted Cat Noir's puns.

"Nice one, Milady," Cat Noir said, his grin quickly replaced by a serious expression as he redoubled his efforts to find the two students. His eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of pink through the trees. "I think I see them!" he yelled, pointing at where he saw it. "They're over there!"

The two heroes quickly rushed through the trees, stopping once they reached a clearing. There, they saw short, pink-haired Alix and slim, muscular Kim tied to chairs with spun-sugar ropes, sitting in front of a two-storey gingerbread cottage. Despite the relatively small scale of the building, Ladybug saw Frau Märchen's ridiculously ornate design sensibilities all over it, from the intricate detail on the molded frosting to the insane amount of colorful treats covering the walls and roof. Even the sugar-glass windows looked like stained glass.

"Well, certainly looks like a witch's candy house," Cat Noir muttered, before rushing over to untie the two students. "Hang on, I'll get you out of this," he said, swiftly cutting through the ropes with his clawed gloves.

As soon as the two were up, they hugged Cat Noir tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Alix said. "We thought we were done for!"

Ladybug, however, had been standing her ground, an eyebrow raised. "Wait," she asked. "Why didn't she bother locking you in the house?"

The two students froze. "Um...she wanted to torture us by making us stare at the candy we wouldn't be eating?" Kim said, starting to sweat.

Ladybug tensed at the lame excuse, edging her hand towards her yo-yo. "And where is she?" she continued. "Even if she wanted to keep you outside just to lure us in, why wouldn't she be out here waiting?"

"Well, that's because…" Alix began, before reaching into her pocket and slamming something into Cat Noir's mouth, who chewed and swallowed reflexively.

"Gingerbread?" he said, before the two leapt away from him and back towards the house.

"I told you we should have stayed inside! That way we could have had the home field advantage from the start!" Alix yelled, glaring at Kim.

"Yeah, well who had the bright idea to tie ourselves up? We should have just hid and ambushed them when they got here!" Kim snapped right back.

"Wait, so you two are-" Cat Noir began, only to stop talking when Alix turned her glare at him.

"Sit down, kitty cat!" she ordered, and Cat Noir promptly sat himself down in one of the chairs, the ropes retying themselves around him.

"Cat Noir!" Ladybug yelled. "What did you do to him?" she asked, looking at a grinning Alix and Kim.

"Well, Hansel, do you think we should tell her?" Alix asked.

"Actually, Gretel, I think we should show her!" Kim replied. The two teenagers then snapped their fingers, causing each to be surrounded by black energy. When it faded, the two were now wearing what looked like armor made out of various confectionaries, mostly gingerbread, decorated with candies and frosting in ornate patterns. Alix's hair was now untied and long enough to reach her mid-back, while Kim wore a traditionally designed knight's helmet made out of layers of cookies. He also held a peppermint-styled spear, and a bandolier of meringue grenades, while Alix held a candy cane wand in one hand and a licorice whip in the other.

"You two are the minions here?!" Ladybug asked.

"Hansel and Gretel, at your disservice!" Kim, now Hansel, replied.

"And I think you mean _you_ have to fight," Alix, now Gretel, said smugly. "After all, we already fed Cat Noir our treats. Now he's our little puppet."

"And you'll soon suffer the same fate!" Hansel bragged. "We're going to cook you both until your meat falls from your bones, and serve your Miraculouses to Frau Märchen for dessert!"

"Sorry, but I get better sweets for free," Ladybug replied, twirling her yo-yo. "Time to take out the competition!"

As she swung her yo-yo at the two villains, they leapt aside, then turned and ran into the gingerbread mansion, the doors opening and closing behind them.

"Think you can handle yourself while I go after them?" Ladybug asked Cat Noir.

"I guess I can manage," Cat Noir replied. "I'm just glad they didn't try putting us against each other."

"You and me both," Ladybug said, before rushing after Hansel and Gretel, kicking the door in with a single strike. She charged into the house, pausing once she got through the door and looking around. She appeared to be in some sort of living room, one which, strangely enough, lacked any windows in contrast to the exterior. It was, however, filled with elegant candy furniture and decorated with icing paintings. There were two doors on either side of the room, and a staircase going up. Most importantly, though, there was no sign of either of the two minions.

"If I were a pair of troublemaking brats, where would I go?" Ladybug said to herself, walking forward absently. However, she only made it a few steps before the gingerbread floor beneath her seized her legs, keeping her in place.

"What the?!" Ladybug yelled, trying to dislodge herself. Suddenly, she heard a whistling sound coming from somewhere above her. Looking up, she saw one of Hansel's grenades on a collision course with her head, albeit with the villain in question nowhere to be found.

Thinking quickly, she grabbed her yo-yo and quickly struck the floor around her feet, breaking enough of the gingerbread to pull herself free and dodge the grenade. As it exploded into a flood of light, fluffy meringue, she dove through one of the doors, ending up in a bedroom. As she turned and faced the door she came in from, she heard a strange groaning sound coming from behind her. Turning back, she gasped when she saw the giant graham cracker four-poster bed floating in midair, before it flung itself in her direction.

She rolled out of the way, only for the marshmallow pillows and chocolate blanket to detach themselves from the bed and fly at her, chasing her down as she ducked and wove her way around the room, avoiding the large crumbs left behind when the bed shattered against the wall. When she passed by the door again, a licorice whip emerged from the wall and wrapped itself around her waist. It pulled her back into the living room, letting her go and vanishing as she slid across the meringue and crashed against the far wall.

"Surrender, Ladybug!" Gretel's voice laughed, seemingly coming from nowhere. "It couldn't be easier! Just take a bite of candy!"

"Not happening!" Ladybug yelled, getting to her feet. However, when a candy cane wand shot out from the wall and fired a blast of sparkling sugar, she yelped and ran to the side, looking back to see the sugar caramelize and burn the meringue on contact.

"Okay, avoid the sugar dust," she muttered. Deciding to try her luck on the stairs, she ran up them, jumping over the peppermint lances that emerged from the wall every other step and tried to skewer her. When she reached the top, she heard the sound of the cookie steps detaching from the wall, but she dove through the doorway in front of her before they could start attacking, landing inside of a huge kitchen. Utensils of every sort hung from hooks on the walls, and in the corner was a massive, fiery, wood-burning oven made of black iron.

"So, you decided to jump in our oven yourself, huh?" she heard Hansel's voice say. "Thanks for saving us the trouble!"

Scowling, Ladybug leapt to the oven and fired her yo-yo at the floor, cracking the shortbread tiles. The oven began to sink into the floor, only to be halted when the tiles instantly repaired themselves.

 _Wait, they fixed the floor instead of hitting me?_ Ladybug thought. _This oven might be more important than they're letting on._

Curious, she slammed her yo-yo into the side of the oven, causing a major dent. Instantly, cracks covered the entirety of the kitchen, and from what Ladybug could see, they extended throughout the rest of the house as well.

"What do you think you're doing?! Stop that!" came Gretel's voice from behind her. She turned to face the kitchen's back wall as the licorice whip emerged from it. Unlike the last time, though, Ladybug could see glimpses of Gretel's face through the cracks. Smiling, she dodged under the whip strike and used the momentum to spin in place, striking the oven once more as she turned. The blow made the dent even bigger, and even more of the walls crumbled away, revealing the forest through the holes. Strangely, it seemed that every hole showed an image of the front of the cottage, which showed that the cottage was as magically impossible as the rest of the palace.

"Stop her, you idiot!" Hansel's voice screamed.

"I'm trying!" Gretel shouted back. "Do something yourself!"

"Alright, I will!" he replied. His face appeared in the cracks next to Gretel's, and his peppermint spear emerged from the wall in front of Ladybug, with a meringue grenade pierced onto it.

Now outright grinning, Ladybug dove out of the way, causing the spear to plunge straight into the depths of the oven. "Fire in the hole!" she yelled, as she dove out through one of the holes in the wall. Grabbing onto a tree branch with her yo-yo, she swung around and landed gracefully, albeit illogically, next to the chairs where Cat Noir was still bound.

For a few moments, the incredibly cracked mansion was silent. Then, it shattered completely, dissolving into dark energy and leaving Hansel and Gretel standing in the empty space where it had been, glaring at each other.

"You idiot! Why would you use one of those when she was right in front of the damn oven?" Gretel yelled, getting up in Hansel's face.

"Well excuse me for trying to get rid of her! I didn't see you doing anything useful!" Hansel snapped back, not giving an inch.

"I was trying to get her to go away! All we had to do was move her downstairs, away from our power source, and we would have been home free! But no, you had to go big or go home, didn't you?!"

"Ahem," came Cat Noir's voice.

"What?!" the two screamed, turning, only to stop when they saw Cat Noir casually break his restraints and stand up.

"Sorry, but I believe you said something about your 'power source' being gone?" he said, grinning.

The two villains gulped audibly.

"Ladybug, care to give me a hand?" Cat Noir asked, turning to Ladybug.

"With pleasure," she replied, and the two heroes walked towards the cowering villains with identical smirks on their faces.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Back in Frau Märchen's lair, she sighed as she felt a rush of energy running through her. She didn't need to look back to know that Hansel and Gretel's images had appeared one one of the tapestries filling the room.

"Well, it's not like I was anticipating much, but I suppose even low expectations can fail to be met," she muttered, tapping her hand against the side of her face. With a snap of her fingers, a glowing interface appeared in front of her, one which so many twists, turns, and disconnected rooms that it took a few moments to recognize it as vaguely conforming to her castle's exterior.

"Now, where should I send them next?" she asked, focusing her attention on the red and green holographic figures shaped like Ladybug and Cat Noir.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"I'm worried about Marinette," Sabine whispered to her husband. They were currently sitting on top of their bed, attempting to escape from the white mist that was slowly filling and transforming Paris. While they had noticed the castle that replaced College Francois Dupont, they had not noticed the mist until it had engulfed their bakery, transforming the exterior into a quaint little cottage. The inside was transforming more slowly, which gave Tom and Sabine time to head for higher ground and cloister themselves, but they both knew they were just delaying the inevitable. "She was right inside the school! Can you imagine what she must be going through?"

"Worrying won't help her," Tom told his wife, holding her tight in his massive arms. "We just have to hope that Ladybug and Cat Noir can set things right. They always have in the past."

"But what if they don't?" Sabine cried. "What if we never see our daughter again?"

For that, Tom had no answer but to hold her even closer. The two sat there in silence as the mist crept into the room, splitting the bed into three and leaving Tom and Sabine on the far one.

"You know what I'm suddenly craving?" asked Tom, who had now sprouted fur.

"Porridge?" Sabine guessed, removing her claws from his back.

Tom licked his muzzle and nodded.

"Well, we'd better get started if we want to have enough for when Marinette gets home!" Sabine said, getting up. "You know she likes it just right."

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Have you found a way out yet?" Ladybug asked, calling over to Cat Noir.

"Nothing yet, Milady," he replied, running his fingers over the solid gold wall.

After defeating Hansel and Gretel, the two had stumbled upon a door carved into a tree, which had led them to a room piled high with straw, where they had to fight Rumplestiltskin, who had captured Cat Noir in a prehensile golden net, which he had tried to use to grab Ladybug as well, and press them into a spinning wheel to spin more golden thread, only for Ladybug to turn it on him at the last minute. A hole in the wall hidden by one of the straw piles had taken them to a darkened cottage, where the Bremen Town Musicians bombarded them with waves of sound and blasts of shadow until Ladybug was able to smash open a window, revealing four frightened and now powerless animals. Now, they were stuck where they had battled Ali Baba and his thirty-nine doppelgangers; a room made out of gold and piled high with gold and gems, which thankfully Ladybug was able to use to create an avalanche to bury her opponents.

"Great," Ladybug groaned, idly kicking at a goblet that could probably pay for at least a year's stay in the penthouse suite at Le Grand Paris. "If we have to dig through all this mess to find the next door, we'll burn through the deadline for sure!"

Indeed, the hourglass, which they learned could be made to appear and disappear just by saying "Hourglass", was now a quarter of the way filled.

"Well, I don't see anywhere else it could be, so we might as well start now," Cat Noir said. However, before he could do more than bury his hands into a pile, the two heroes heard high-pitched voices coming from somewhere.

"Run, run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!" they said, giggling.

"More of the Gingerbread Men!" Ladybug shouted, smiling. "Quick, help me find where they're coming from!"

"Right!" Cat Noir replied, quickly turning back and forth trying to pinpoint the sound. "There they are!" he yelled, pointing toward a relatively small pile up against a wall.

He and Ladybug ran towards it, quickly tearing through and tossing the coins and such aside. In only a minute, they had uncovered not only two gingerbread men, resembling Chloe and Sabrina, but also a doorway out.

Looking back and forth for a moment, Cat Noir seized the Chloe cookie and bit off its head.

"Cat!" Ladybug shouted.

"What?" he said over a mouthful of cookie. "I'm starving! I haven't had anything to eat since that gingerbread Hansel and Gretel force-fed me. I'll take what I can get," he continued. "Besides, they got me hooked on the stuff - and just when I gave up marzipan!"

Groaning, Ladybug had to concede he had a point. If she had to use her Lucky Charm during this search, and the only thing she could feed Tikki was one of the gingerbread men, she wouldn't think twice about it.

"Alright, fine, but just be a little more discreet?" she asked. "It's kinda creepy to eat them when they're singing like that."

"I'll do my best, Milady," he replied as he finished off the cookie. Straightening up and brushing the crumbs from his mouth and suit, he opened the door, revealing the antechamber they had arrived in at the start of Frau Märchen's challenge. "Guess that's the end of this pathway," he mused as he and Ladybug stepped through the door. When they had walked into the antechamber, it shut behind them and locked, before fading to the point where it more resembled a painting of a door.

"Convenient," Ladybug said, before looking over the rest of the room. "Okay, so we know that she has to be in the highest tower, but we don't have any way to determine which door takes us where in this place. And assuming that every door leads us to more than one 'Guardian', then we have a lot of ground to cover in not a ton of time."

"Well, random chance led us to Hansel and Gretel, so maybe a more calculated move would be better," Cat Noir replied as he glanced around at the doors. When he saw a pitch-black one with the image of a witch on it, he grinned. "This one looks promising," he said, walking over to it.

"A bit on the nose, don't you think?" Ladybug asked as she joined him.

"It's a better lead than we've gotten so far," Cat Noir said. "Besides, we'll have to go here eventually anyway. Might as well try it now, rather than beat ourselves up over missing the obvious one when we're low on time."

"Fair enough," Ladybug said, opening the door to reveal a lavish sitting room, with windows overlooking a magnificent garden.

"Certainly beautiful enough for a queen to stay here," Cat Noir said as the two stepped through.

"Indeed," came a rumbling voice hidden in the shadows. Startled, Ladybug and Cat Noir stepped back as a hulking figure stepped forward, revealing a somewhat familiar face. It was Ivan, now seven feet tall and covered with dark fur, dressed in an elegant suit of black velvet. The lace at the cuffs emphasized his hulking paws and their massive claws, and the leather boots he wore barely fit over his other pair of paws. There was still a patch of blonde-dyed fur amid the inky black over his forehead, between the ram's horns. And tucked into a chest-pocket was a brightly blooming red rose. He ran his thick, wet tongue over the tusks protruding upward from his wide mouth.

"No comfort is too great for the queen of my heart," he continued. "My beloved Beauty."

"Beauty?" Ladybug repeated, only to jump as a dress-clad figure all but floated past the heroes, coming to stand next to the transformed Ivan.

"Thank you, my darling Beast," trilled what used to be Mylene, now dressed in a simple green evening gown covered with floral motifs, roses and thorns intertwining around each other in a beautiful display that was accentuated by the pink rose blooming above her heart. The more obvious change, though, was to her figure. Once very short and slightly overweight, Beauty now stood as tall as Ladybug, and had grown much curvier. Her face remained relatively unchanged, apart from looking thinner to match her new proportions, but it seemed to shine with an inner light. Her hair was still mostly the same, though - blonde dreadlocks, half of them dyed in various colors, contained beneath a pink bandana. The only difference was that it was longer, now reaching her mid-back.

"Guess Frau Märchen has a thing for long, flowing hair," Ladybug muttered. Inwardly, though, she was furious. Mylene was already beautiful for reasons far beyond her appearance, making this transformation downright insulting.

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to tell us where Frau Märchen is?" she asked, grabbing her yo-yo.

"Betray the one who allowed us to be happy together?" the Beast replied, baring his teeth. "Of course not."

"Instead, we will honor our ruler, and bring her what she seeks! Namely, your Miraculouses!" Beauty continued, extending out a gloved hand in a queenly gesture.

"Didn't think so. You ready, Cat Noir?" Ladybug asked, turning to her partner.

"Am I ever not?" he asked back, grabbing his bo-staff.

"Then let's go!" she yelled, as the two charged into battle against their new opponents.


	5. And Reshaped it in Her Image

_MP: Welcome back, readers! It seems like we're amassing quite a few fans lately._

 **PA2: I'll say! I honestly was not expecting the fic to get this popular. It's a bit of an out-there concept.**

 _MP: Yeah, a Ladybug fic that actually mimics the style of the show. What a controversy!_

 **PA2: I more meant the boss rush style we're going for, but it you want to be snarky, then go right ahead.**

 _MP: Like you can stop me._

 **PA2: Don't remind me. But seriously, thank you all so much for reading and showing your interest. It really means a lot that people are enjoying what we've created here.**

 _MP: And that you continue to do so. And please, don't be afraid to review. Faving the story and putting it on alert are great, but we love hearing your individual voices._

 **PA2: Not to fish for praise, but I agree. Even if there are things that you don't like, let us know!**

 _MP: Heck,_ especially _then!_

 **PA2: Exactly! We can't improve if we don't get honest feedback, and we're pretty good at taking criticism. Well, at least** _ **I**_ **am.**

 _MP: *in tears* WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!_

 **PA2: And with that, let's get started! Also, anyone who gets the reference in MP's line gets my eternal appreciation. Don't really have anything else to give, but it's something!**

 _MP: Yep, and here's a hint: Enjoy the chapter! I gotta go stir-fry a bikini. See ya!_

 **Chapter 5: And Reshaped it in Her Image**

"You take Beauty!" Cat Noir told Ladybug. "I've got the Beast!"

"Right!"

Ladybug and Cat Noir sprung into battle, leaping over their opponents' heads and simultaneously moving to strike them from behind. To their shock, however, neither of their attacks landed. The Beast laughed and spun, catching Cat Noir's staff in his paw, while Beauty brushed her left hand against the back of her right and disappeared into thin air. Ladybug barely had time to react as Cat Noir and his staff were thrown at her, sending them crashing back. Then Beauty reappeared from behind and grabbed the string of Ladybug's yo-yo, twirling it around the duo as she laughed.

"Quick, point your staff at the ground and extend it!" Ladybug ordered. Cat Noir nodded, lined up the bottom of his weapon to the floor, and did as she said, hoisting them into the air. As they toppled, Ladybug spun in midair, untangling them, and the two heroes landed back on their feet.

"Well, that was disappointing," Cat Noir said. "Any ideas?"

"This is going to sound stupid, but let's charge them. It'll give us a better read on how they fight, and it'll make them think we're out of ideas," Ladybug replied, starting to spin her yo-yo.

"Works for me," Cat Noir, said, adjusting his grip on his staff before he and Ladybug charged Beauty and the Beast again, this time attacking them from the front.

"Frontal assaults won't work on me!" the Beast snorted. He ran in to meet Cat Noir, head down and horns out. At the last second, Cat Noir planted his staff into the Beast's forehead and used it as leverage to propel himself upwards, landing behind the Beast and preparing to strike him again. However, the Beast turned far quicker than his size would suggest, and leapt back, dodging the strike. He then charged Cat Noir again, this time with his arms extended, brandishing his sharp claws.

At the same time, Ladybug ran in, still spinning her yo-yo, only for Beauty to repeat the gesture from before and disappear before her eyes, reappearing behind her. As Ladybug quickly turned, she noticed Beauty moving her fingers away from a small golden ring on her right hand. _So that's what it is_ , she thought. She had little time to think about it, though, as Beauty pulled out an ornately decorated club from out of nowhere. Ladybug barely was able to notice the fact that it was covered with r live roses before she ducked out of its way.

"A club?! Are you kidding me?!" she shouted as she continued to dodge and weave around Beauty's strikes.

"I lived out in the countryside for a while! Not the most enjoyable time of my life, but the strength it gave me was much appreciated!"

"You're not Beauty!" Ladybug snapped. "You're Mylene Haprele, and you've lived in Paris your whole life! And besides, you look like you haven't worked a day in your life! How are you swinging that thing with that figure?"

"Like you're one to talk! Besides, I am the embodiment of beauty, and muscular girls are far from attractive!"

"Seriously?!" Ladybug screamed. "Okay, that's it. I'm taking you down for body image advocates everywhere, you mind-controlled twig!"

Ladybug flung out her yo-yo, and Beauty quickly made her club vanish, rubbed her ring, and teleported behind her again, resummoning her club and aiming it at Ladybug's ribs. This time, the young hero spun and grabbed her enemy by the wrist, swept her leg, and knocked Beauty to the floor. Before she could deliver an elbow drop, Beauty grabbed at her ring and teleported again, dropping down on Ladybug from midair and pinning her down.

Simultaneously, Cat Noir ducked and weaved to avoid the Beast's claws, deciding to break his staff into shorter twin batons. These fared no better - with each weapon held in only one hand, it was even easier for the Beast to overpower him. Instead, Cat Noir leaned back and delivered a full-powered kick to the Beast's nose, and the Beast howled in pain. He clutched his bleeding nose in one hand and angrily swiped at Cat Noir with the other paw. Cat Noir laughed and retreated with a backflip, then rejoined his batons back into a staff and swung. The Beast caught it, though, and grabbed Cat Noir by the wrist. Then, with a brutal roar, he swiped his massive claws in an attempt to tear the hero open.

Ladybug saw Cat Noir's struggle and, despite her limited mobility from being pinned, tossed her yo-yo just enough to send Cat Noir out of the path of the claws. In return, Cat Noir ran over to Ladybug and kicked Beauty aside, sending her flying across the room.

Breathing heavily, Ladybug let Cat Noir help her up and glanced at the two villains, the Beast having rushed to Beauty's side after Cat Noir threw her. The two were now engaged in an oddly tender embrace, the Beast whispering sweet nothings into Beauty's ear.

"Is it weird that I find this a little heartwarming?" Ladybug asked.

"Not sure myself," Cat Noir replied. "But it's an opportunity either way. So, we know what they're capable of. What's the plan?"

"Follow my lead!" Ladybug said. With a smirk, she once again charged Beauty, yo-yo out. Nodding, Cat Noir mimicked the move, running at the Beast.

"They never learn, do they?" Beauty remarked, resting her left hand on her right. The Beast nodded, and the two prepared to attack. At the last second, though, as Beauty teleported and the Beast brandished his claws, Ladybug flung her yo-yo not ahead or behind, but sideways, wrapping it around the Beast's horns and pulling him aside. She ran to the furry chimera and punched him in the throat with all of her might. The Beast toppled at her feet.

At the same time, Cat Noir jabbed his staff backwards, striking the reappearing Beauty right in the solar plexus before she could summon her club. "A gift from Milady," he snickered as the princess fell, equally unconscious.

As the two villains dissolved into the familiar mist, Ladybug and Cat Noir walked over to each other and hi-fived, grinning. "Quick thinking, Milady," Cat Noir said.

"Thanks! Figured that switching up would throw off their rhythm. I'm a little surprised it was that effective though," Ladybug mused.

"We can't afford to look a gift horse in the mouth. We're on the clock after all," Cat Noir replied.

"Good point," Ladybug said. "So let's find the door out of here and keep moving."

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Back in Frau Märchen's lair, a fair amount of the room's tapestries were now filled in, making for a beautiful, if crowded, sight to Frau Märchen's eyes.

The villainess herself was staring at the castle interface, frowning. "Hm...things have been a bit too linear for my tastes," she mused. "Let's shake things up a bit," she continued, glaring at the room where Ladybug and Cat Noir's icons were. With a snap of her fingers, the next room in line began to glow a dark purple.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

When Ladybug and Cat Noir opened the ornate door hidden in a corner, they were confronted by utter darkness. Ladybug peered inside, but it didn't render things any clearer, and from Cat Noir's shake of the head, the same was true for him. Ladybug's expression became a cross between concerned and hopeful.

"This looks like the same kind of darkness as when we first came in," she whispered to Cat Noir. "I think this might be it."

"Only one way to find out," Cat Noir replied, and he stepped through the door, Ladybug following suit. Once they were both through, the door slammed behind them, plunging them into pitch-blackness.

Suddenly, a dim purple light filled the room, revealing Frau Märchen sitting on a throne, a look of shock on her face.

"Well well well! Looks like we've found you, Frau Märchen!" Cat Noir declared, grinning. "We've beaten your little game with time to spare!"

"Now then, get ready for a classical takedown!" Ladybug continued, brandishing her yo-yo.

Frau Märchen didn't react at all to their statements. In fact, she didn't move at all.

"Um...Frau Märchen?" Ladybug asked.

Suddenly, Frau Märchen and her throne shattered into motes of light, which soon faded into nothingness. At the same time, the room fully lit up, revealing a demonic obstacle course, filled with spikes, pits of flame, and traps too numerous and bizarre to name. Finishing off the room were a pair of spike-lined walls, which were slowly moving inwards.

"Ah, a good old-fashioned deathtrap. Nice to see she's going with the classics," Cat Noir quipped, somewhat managing to hide his shock and fear. Ladybug was having a little less luck, although that was more out of frustration than panic.

"And with the way things were laid out, we had no choice but to walk right into it," she growled. "Let's just get through this thing, and fast!" She and Cat Noir then rushed into the room proper, starting to weave their way through the traps.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Frau Märchen grinned as the two icons worked their way through the glowing image of the room. "Ah, always good to shake up their expectations," she mused.

" _Frau Märchen,_ " came Hawk Moth's voice from inside her mind, prompting a grimace. " _If you can create rooms like this at your whim, then why not fill the entire castle with them? Or do you enjoy wasting my time by sending out your inefficient minions?_ "

"Believe me, nothing would give me more pleasure than to eliminate those heroes immediately," Frau Märchen replied. "However, you know as well as I that my powers won't let it be that simple. Quite frankly, that room took more effort out of me than I'd like to admit. Death traps aren't traditionally fairy tale, after all."

" _I can accept that,"_ Hawk Moth growled, _"but that hardly explains why you insist on dragging this out. Just send your entire army after them at once and be done with it!"_

At that, Frau Märchen gave a menacing smile. "Because that would be a waste of resources. Ladybug would simply take advantage of the chaos and use them to defeat each other. Besides, you know that with every passing minute, my powers and kingdom grow stronger. They can fight their way through the entire castle if it comes to that, but in the end, I'll be ready to show them just how dangerous a fairy tale can be."

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"See that you do," Hawk Moth said as he reclined against the leather seat of his limousine. After pausing to see if there was another response, he ended the connection, a frustrated look on his face as he stared out the tinted window.

"Problems, Mr. Agreste?" Nathalie asked as the last traces of Paris disappeared over the horizon behind them. They had managed to escape with plenty of time to spare, and now had nothing to do but wait over the several-hour drive to the exhibition.

"Somewhat," Hawk Moth replied. "Not only is Frau Märchen refusing to do things intelligently, but she keeps repeating the same rationale for her actions without any new details."

"Do you think she's hiding something from you?"

"I'm not sure. Perhaps her thought processes are limited by her abilities," Hawk Moth said, idling playing with his cane. "Fairy tale villains aren't much known for their long-term planning."

"Have you considered applying a touch of pain?" Nathalie pondered, her tone staying constant.

"It wouldn't work," Hawk Moth said, shaking his head. "That ability is most effective when a villain is actively reneging on our agreement. Despite my issues, she _is_ still going after their Miraculouses."

"Then I suppose we'll just have to wait and see," Nathalie said.

"I suppose we will," Hawk Moth replied. But unlike Nathalie's calm tone, his voice held a slight hint of worry.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Ladybug and Cat Noir hurtled over pitfalls, ducked under spikes, and spun away from swinging blades as the walls slowly edged closer. Every second, there was less space to dodge, less time to think. They were moving on instinct soon, never standing still for even a moment lest the death traps live up to their name.

"We can't keep this up for much longer!" Ladybug yelled. "Do you see a way out of here?" she asked.

"There!" Cat Noir replied, pointing at a nearby door, almost blending into the background. "It's the only way out!"

"So it's probably trapped," she muttered. Raising her voice, she said, "Alright, let's run for it! And be ready for anything!"

With a nod, the two heroes began to move even faster, ducking, weaving, and jumping their way through the obstacles as the door grew ever closer. They reached it just as the walls were about to, but as they moved to open it, the ground dropped out from under them, sending them plummeting into an endless void.

Ladybug and Cat Noir clutched each other as Ladybug launched her yo-yo upward, catching nothing but air. "Do something!" she screamed at Cat Noir, her expression panicked.

With a grunt, Cat Noir held his staff over his head, and expanded it until it met the walls of the pit. A screech of resistance echoed in the darkness as their descent slowed, only for the struggle to grow futile as Cat Noir, already holding Ladybug, lost his grip on his weapon, sending them plunging further downward. With a fierce expression, Ladybug threw her yo-yo once more, hooking the staff. She nearly dislocated her shoulder as their fall came to an abrupt stop just above a pit of acid, but she managed to keep her hold on both Cat Noir and her magic weapon.

The two heroes let out a simultaneous sigh, before looking up as they heard a grinding sound. They gasped as they saw the walls closing in, not just encroaching on the door, but starting to cover up the pit.

"We need to get back up there now!" Ladybug said.

Cat Noir nodded. "You get us back to my staff! I'll take it from there!" he told her.

Ladybug nodded and swung Cat Noir back and forth, being careful not to let him hit the walls. Once she had enough momentum, she released him and sent him flying upward. He caught the staff by his fingertips, then climbed on top of it. Once he had his balance, he grabbed the yo-yo string and pulled Ladybug up alongside him.

"Okay, now _you_ throw _me_!" Ladybug said.

Cat Noir didn't need to be told twice. He hurled Ladybug up through the shaft, and she tossed her weapon yet again, this time hooking a spike on the wall. With effort, she shinnied up the string and out of the pit, then sent the yo-yo back down. Cat Noir smiled and grabbed it, then shrunk his staff and was pulled upward, twirling just in time to avoid being run through by a pristine spike.

"I didn't realize that Indiana Jones was a fairy tale," Ladybug said with a smirk.

"It's a classic," Cat Noir replied, grinning. "Now then, let's head out before those walls block us in and start shooting poison darts."

"Don't give her ideas!" Ladybug said, laughing as she opened the door. The laugh was quickly stopped by a literal wall of water that rushed through the door, washing around the two heroes. The walls stopped moving inward, as the current was so strong that it actually ended up pushing the walls back.

"Ah!" Ladybug shouted in surprised as the rushing water kept her from moving forward. "I can't get through! The current's too strong!"

"I'll say!" Cat Noir groaned. "And this is no place for a cat to be!"

The room continued to flood as the heroes struggled to keep their heads above water. Every second became a struggle as, oddly enough, they'd hardly ever dealt with water since becoming superheroes.

"What are we going to do?!" Cat Noir screamed, looking frantically around for something solid to hold. Amazingly, the death traps seemed to be dissolving into nothingness, leaving only an empty, high-ceilinged room.

"Just keep from drowning!" Ladybug answered. "Once the water's high enough, we can swim out!"

Cat Noir grimaced at this. "Swim?'" he repeated. "I was afraid you'd say that."

"Yeah, but we'll have to time it just right to make sure we can hold our breath long enough. When the room's half full, we dive!"

"How do you know we'll have enough air?" Cat Noir replied. "It could be an endless ocean through there! Miles to the surface, if there's one at all!"

"I know we'll be good because that's how this palace works!" Ladybug explained. "However strong Frau Märchen is, she either won't or can't put us somewhere with no way out! Besides, it's not like there are any other options! Now, the room's half full! Dive!"

Taking a deep breath, the heroes plunged their heads underwater and swam for the doorway, the current slowing as the room filled. To speed them along, Ladybug spun her yo-yo like a propeller and seized Cat Noir's arm. They blasted through the doorway and into an underwater cavern, albeit a paradisiacal one. The water was clear and blue, streaked with sunlight that came through holes in the rocky walls, and they and the ground were covered with luminous gemstones and coral, making the entire place shine like a rainbow. The cavern was surrounded by over a dozen dark caves and tunnels large enough for the two heroes to swim through side by side, with tiny fish of every color swimming in and out.

"Wow," Ladybug said absently, then gasped. Fortunately, her theory was confirmed. While the rocky ceiling made it likely that there was no surface, her breathing was unaffected by the aquatic atmosphere. "Well, that's a relief," she said, idly kicking her legs to stay "afloat", as it were.

"Yeah," Cat Nor replied, grimacing. "But we're still stuck down here until we beat the champion, and I have a pretty good idea who it is."

Ladybug and Cat Noir locked eyes, and as they did, a decent but nasally soprano began to pour from one of the caves.

" _Welcome, meddling heroes, to my paradise lagoon,"_ it sang.

" _You can't have chosen a prettier place where you can meet your doom."_

 _Oh, fantastic,_ Ladybug mused, rolling her eyes.

" _The water's blue, the seaweed's green,_

 _There's wonders like you've never seen._

 _But it will be your resting place,_

 _As death's cold touch you shall embrace."_

 _Her vocabulary's improved,_ Ladybug thought, shaking her head.

" _The water's nice, take my advice, and just accept your fate._

 _You're on my turf, enjoy the surf, and I won't make you wait."_

"This is downright torture," Ladybug moaned, too annoyed to keep her thoughts internal any longer.

"I know!" Cat Noir agreed. "And these lyrics are just lazy! I almost wish she'd just ambush us to end it!"

At his words, something larger than a tropical fish fluttered out of one of the caves - but not much bigger. Another gingerbread man, this one modeled after Alix, drifted in, giggling as the water permeated it. It fell apart with a smile on its face, and was gobbled up by nearby fish.

"That really doesn't get any less disturbing no matter how often it happens," Ladybug said, grimacing. Despite how often it was happening, seeing confectionary versions of her classmates die with smiles on their faces was still horrifying.

"I'm more just wondering how they got here. Are there secret passageways that we don't know about?" Cat Noir asked.

"If there are, I doubt we'd be able to fit through them. Now come on. We have a minion to defeat, hopefully before she starts singing again," Ladybug said. The two heroes then swam away from the entrance and over to the maze of caves and tunnels, contemplating them in silence. As they looked, the singing started up again.

" _Give up, give in, you cannot win._

 _You'll never find your way._

 _Now stuck within this cave you're in,_

 _Here you'll forever stay."_

"Did she really just use 'in' twice in that last set?" Ladybug asked.

"Yep," Cat Noir muttered. "I don't know what's more annoying: The water, the singing, or the fact that we have to go through a maze inside a maze!"

"Griping about it isn't going to do anything," Ladybug replied. "Let's just pick a tunnel and get going."

"Shouldn't we try to reason out where she is first? This maze can't be as complicated as the castle."

"All the more reason to choose one at random. These tunnels should all lead to the same place eventually, so we can't go wrong. If they turn out to be dead ends, then we can be more methodical," Ladybug replied. Looking over the tunnels, she pointed towards a relatively high-up one, surrounded by red gems. "Let's start here," she continued, swimming towards it.

However, the second she poked her head through the mouth of the tunnel, she felt her lungs seize up. She quickly withdrew and started taking deep breaths, grabbing at her chest.

"What's wrong, Milady?" Cat Noir asked as he swam up to join her.

"Whatever magic's letting us breathe in here doesn't work in the tunnels," she replied, frowning. "We're going to have to hold our breath and swim as fast as we can."

"Wonderful," Cat Noir moaned. "Well, let's just get this over with."

The two swam back up to the red-gem lined tunnel, took a deep breath, and plunged through. The swim turned out not to be more than a hundred feet, though with a couple of sharp turns and jagged rocks lining the walls. Still, despite the hazards, they made quick time of the tunnel, and soon emerged in what looked like a natural amphitheater, made of polished marble-like stone. Like everything else in the cave, it was covered with glowing gems, although the effect there was more gaudy than the serene beauty of the first chamber.

Cautiously opening her mouth, Ladybug breathed a sigh of relief when her lungs filled.

"Well, here we are," Cat Noir said, looking around. "So, what happens next?"

"Aw, you made it through already?" came a familiar voice. "I was hoping you'd have picked the shark tunnel," it continued, as a somewhat familiar figure floated into view.

Unlike Mylene, Chloe's features were completely intact, her blonde hair floating around her head in the underwater current and a smug smirk on her lips. However, her entire lower body had been replaced with a golden fish tail, scales shimmering in an ostentatious display. Her upper body was similarly bedecked, with golden jewelry all over her, including, thankfully, a clamshell bikini top.

"I knew it," Ladybug said, before doing a double take. "Wait, what are you talking about?"

The Little Mermaid groaned. "Just turn around, morons," she said.

The two heroes did so, albeit warily, and their eyes widened. Embedded in the wall of the amphitheater were several different openings, at least half seeming to correspond to a tunnel in the original chamber.

"You mean to tell me that all of those tunnels lead here?!" Ladybug snapped, turning back to the Little Mermaid. "Then what was the point about making us choose at all?"

"Well, for one, they all had different traps, so I hoped to trick you into taking one that would get rid of you without my input," the Little Mermaid replied, giving a dismissive wave of her hand. "And for two, Frau Märchen has her maze of a palace, so I figured I deserve one, too! But since you lucked out and picked an easy one, I guess I'll have to take you on myself."

"Seriously? You?" Cat Noir said, chuckling. "I may not like water, but I _do_ know a meal when I see it. And eating your face once today has given me a taste for more."

Ladybug shuddered. _What is going on with him?_ , she thought.

"Come and get me, pussycat!" the Little Mermaid laughed.

Grinning, Cat Noir swam forward, only for the Little Mermaid to effortlessly move out of the way. "What the?!" he snapped.

"I was built for the water, idiot. You can't chase me down!" she said, grinning. She then opened her mouth and took a deep breath.

"Here it comes!" Ladybug yelled to Cat Noir. "Cover your ears!"

Cat Noir nodded and did so, with Ladybug following suit. However, the Little Mermaid's voice was different from before. Rather than the decent but imperfect voice of her taunts, her singing now was wordless and exquisite, a pure clear note with no flaws at all. In some ways it was all the more disturbing for its perfection. And as if in response to her singing, the water around Cat Noir began to glow.

"Huh?" was all he had time to say before a hand shaped itself from the water and grabbed him, pinning his arms against his sides and beginning to squeeze. "Ah!" he screamed.

"Cat Noir!" Ladybug shouted, tossing her yo-yo out to try to pry the hand off of him. But between the slight slowdown the water caused and the tightness of the grip, the yo-yo simply bounced off the fingers. Desperate, she flailed her way over by his side and wrapped her own hands around one of the fingers, pressing her feet against the pinky for leverage. The Little Mermaid's singing only grew louder, and the hand tightened, resisting Ladybug's attempts.

"My...staff…" Cat Noir choked out.

Ladybug nodded and released the finger, instead grabbing at Cat Noir's weapon. Bracing herself once more, Ladybug pulled at the staff with all of her strength, and the hand began to open. Once its grip was slack enough, Cat Noir swam out and smiled.

"Nice one!" he said, giving her a thumbs up. Ladybug smiled and opened her mouth to speak, only to gasp instead.

"Look out!" she yelled, grabbing Cat Noir and yanking him out of the way as a watery harpoon shot past them, impacting into a wall and dissolving.

Turning, the two heroes glared at the Little Mermaid, still singing, but now varying her pitch and tone like an aria. Surrounding her was a veritable arsenal of watery weapons, all of which were primed to pierce through Ladybug and Cat Noir.

"Well, that's not promising," Cat Noir said, gulping.

"We need to shut her up and fast, before she does something we can't get out of," Ladybug said. "Any ideas?"

"Well, we could try scaring her, making her laugh, getting her angry, or just straight up hit her in the throat. Even if it doesn't break anything, it'll still get her to stop," Cat Noir replied.

"Um...let's just try making her angry," Ladybug said, blanching.

Cat Noir shrugged. "Your call," he said, before spinning his staff, grimacing as he ran into some resistance. "The water's slowing my staff down," he told Ladybug. "You might have to take her on alone."

 _Giving up that easily? That's not like him,_ she thought. Out loud, she said, "Got it. Just do what you can."

Once again, Ladybug used her yo-yo as a propeller, speeding toward the Little Mermaid with one fist out. The Little Mermaid gestured at her, grinning, as her arsenal shot forward towards the superheroine. Using the speed granted by her yo-yo, Ladybug maneuvered through the weapons, soon getting close enough to strike out with a kick. However, the Little Mermaid flitted aside, effortlessly dodging the attack, and retreated into a nearby cave. Ladybug tried to move, but her trick left her unable to make any quick turns. As she slowed down, she grimaced as she saw the Little Mermaid disappearing into her hiding place, her singing fading away. Now she had no choice but to follow the minion.

"I'll follow her in," Ladybug announced to Cat Noir. "You stay here and get ready for an ambush!"

"I can hear you!" the Little Mermaid's voice called. "This place has excellent acoustics!"

"Okay, then we'll both go in and drag you out!" Cat Noir yelled, quickly swimming towards the cave, Ladybug following close behind. The two took a deep breath before entering, then gasped and lost it almost instantly. Thankfully the water was breathable, but that was lost on them as they took in the spectacle surrounding them. The tunnel itself was rather short, but that was because it opened up into a ridiculous catacomb of passages and caves that twisted upward towards a hidden ceiling. The entire catacomb was filled with trash and treasures of all kinds, tossed about in unorganized piles that surrounded and even blocked off several exits. In one pile, kitchen utensils were mixed with antique ceramics, and in another, bent bottle caps lay side by side with gold necklaces. It was as opulent as a dragon's lair and as hideous as a hoarder's home, creating a disturbing display.

"Man, she wasn't kidding about wanting her own maze. And this one looks like it's for real," Cat Noir said, staring up.

"How are we ever going to find her in all this?" Ladybug asked, her eyes flitting from entrance to entrance.

Suddenly, the two heroes' ears perked up as another one of the Little Mermaid's perfect songs began, seeming to come from everywhere at once and prompting a veritable armory of watery weapons to materialize in the catacomb.

"By picking a tunnel and swimming through it as fast as we can!" Cat Noir yelled as he and Ladybug quickly swam upwards, away from the weapons starting to fly towards them. Desperately, the two paddled into a tunnel over their heads, holding their breath once again. As they felt the pressure change in the tunnel, they knew they had made the right move. Worse, just over their heads floated a swarm of jellyfish, deceptively serene as they dangled their ready-to-sting tentacles above the heroes. And worst of all, the exit to the tunnel was located near the roof, above the layer of jellyfish.

Cat Noir pointed up as the water weapons zoomed closer. Desperate, Ladybug swung her yo-yo, and to her surprise, the jellyfish drifted away as it arced upwards. _Of course!_ , she thought. _They're not after us! They don't even have brains!_

Now confident, Ladybug repelled any jellyfish that drew near until they reached the top of the cave, seeming to be inexplicably back in the lagoon cavern. But on closer inspection, it was actually a replica, as was noted by the increased number of tunnels and the scattered piles of intermingled treasure and trash. The two ducked aside just in time to avoid the water weapons, which collided with the far wall and dissolved back into "normal" water.

"This is getting ridiculous," Ladybug moaned.

"'Getting'?!" Cat Noir repeated. "We just got started in this maze and already we've had an army of jellyfish and a fakeout room! I think we're past ridiculous at this point, and I am not in the mood to deal with this. We're taking her out now, before we go crazy trying to commit ourselves to this egotistical obstacle course!"

"I'm right there with you, but what choice do we have?" Ladybug asked. "We have no idea where she is, and she can make her singing come from anywhere, so we don't have any clues. Unless you have a better option, we need to start going through some more of these tunnels."

"The way to catch a fish isn't to swim after it," Cat Noir said, a grin spreading across his face. "It's to snag it. We need a lure."

"Okay, but what? It's not like we can use ourselves as bait; she'll just use her powers from wherever she is and shishkebab us!"

"We're literally surrounded by bait!" Cat Noir snapped. He waved his arm in the direction of the piles. "So let's start reeling her in!"

After a moment, Ladybug grinned. "That's the best idea you've had all day," she said, before spinning her yo-yo and sending it crashing into one of the piles, knocking assorted objects everywhere.

"Cataclysm might make this easy," Cat Noir began, smirking, "but I have a lot of aggression to work out!" He swam over to a pile and began to strike at it with his staff, knocking aside some of the objects and destroying others.

Suddenly, the Little Mermaid's voice came ringing out throughout the cavern. "Stop!" she screamed, her voice still carrying a melodic quality, but with the brattiness that her original self was known for. "Those are _my_ treasures! How dare you destroy them! My father will have your heads for this!"

"If you want to stop us, then come out and do it yourself!" Ladybug yelled back. "Otherwise, once we're done here, we'll head back to the main room and wreck the rest of your little 'collection'!"

"You wouldn't!" the Little Mermaid snapped.

Cat Noir shrugged and smashed a nearby pile of plates. "If you want to stay in denial, be my guest," he said, swinging his staff through a pile of coins and knocking them to the ground.

The Little Mermaid let out a gasp. "Stop that right now!" she shrieked. With every word, she sounded more and more like Chloe.

Ladybug grinned. _It's working!_ she thought. "Better make up your mind fast!" she said. "Otherwise, there'll be nothing left for you to save!"

With a cry of rage, the Little Mermaid came shooting in through a nearby cave, now swinging a blue sea glass dagger with a pink coral hilt. She was singing once more, not only conjuring her traditional arsenal, but greatly extending her dagger's reach with a watery blade. With a roar, she dove at Cat Noir, swinging her knife. Cat Noir tried to block the water-enhanced dagger with his staff only for the extension to pass right through, leaving him open to be slashed by a pair of sabers crafted by the Mermaid's magic.

"It was a diversion!" Ladybug shouted. As the Little Mermaid turned to her and lunged, she focused on the arsenal and not the dagger. However, as the Little Mermaid was about to strike her, Cat Noir swam up and shoved Ladybug out of the way.

"What the-?" she began, only to stop when the Little Mermaid's watery blade slashed through the wall, leaving a long slice.

"I thought as much," Cat Noir said, still wincing from the slashes. "She's switching how sharp and solid that water around her dagger is. If we block, she'll turn it into ordinary water and hit us with one of her other weapons, but if we don't, she'll keep using her magic on it and slash us apart! If she wasn't trying to kill us, I'd admire her tactics."

"Stop mooning over our assassin and help me!" Ladybug snapped. Desperate, she paddled behind a pile of "treasure", avoiding the strike of a water whip.

"Don't think you can hide from me there!" the Little Mermaid snapped. "A pile's no big sacrifice if it means destroying you!" With that, she began singing with an increased ferocity, summoning up more and more weapons, until practically the entire cavern was filled with them, all pointed at Ladybug's hiding spot.

 _This is it!_ Ladybug thought. She braced herself to dodge as many as she could.

With a triumphant trill, the Little Mermaid made to gesture towards the pile when she stopped short. Her eyes widened and rolled back into her head, her singing ceased.

"Huh?" Ladybug said. Peeking out from behind the pile, she gasped. All of the watery weapons were dissolving away, and the Little Mermaid's seemingly unconscious body was drifting to the floor, revealing Cat Noir floating behind her, his staff clutched tightly in his hands. "Cat Noir?"

"Sorry about that, Milady," he said, returning his staff to his back. "I needed her to be distracted by victory before I could take her out."

"Um...right," she said, swimming over to join him. From the positioning, she assumed that he had snuck up behind the Little Mermaid while she was distracted and hit her over the head. But how did he have enough force to knock her out with all the water resistance?

 _Not worth worrying about,_ she thought after a moment. _It worked, and we're done here._

"Now, shall we find the door out of here?" Cat Noir asked, gallantly extending a hand.

"Yes, let's," Ladybug replied, only for the heroes to start at the sound of coughing. Looking down, they saw the Little Mermaid pushing herself up, her eyes wide and her mouth opening.

"Oh no you don't!" Ladybug yelled, rushing down and wrapping her yo-yo string around her throat, gripping it tightly. "One more note, and you won't like what happens next!"

The Little Mermaid's eyes grew even wider. "You don't understand!" she shouted. "I have to keep singing! If I don't…if I don't…!"

"If you don't, then what?" Ladybug asked. "What has got you so terrified?"

Her question was answered by a massive roar that shook the entire lagoon. The remaining piles of treasure teetered, beginning to fall. Ladybug, looking up, quickly withdrew her yo-yo and swam away, but the Little Mermaid was too panicked to notice.

" _He_ wakes up!" was all the Little Mermaid had time to say before the pile collapsed on top of her, burying her in gold.

"'He' who?!" Ladybug demanded frantically, praying she was alive enough to answer.

"Peluda…" sang the Little Mermaid, before going silent forever. A burst of seafoam escaped from under the pile, confirming her demise.

"'Peluda'?" Cat Noir asked. "What's a peluda?"

"I don't know," Ladybug replied, looking at the tunnels embedded in the cavern's walls, "but I think we're about to find out."


	6. But a Hero Rose to Fight Her

**PA2: Welcome back everyone! Before we get to the comedic banter, we just want to send our congratulations to long-time friends and associates 7th Librarian and Mei1105, on their recent nuptials!**

 _MP: Yeah, we've known them practically since the beginning of that relationship, and I'd just like to say, send me that wedding video! Come on, it was never livecast!_

 **PA2: Eh, what can you do? Anyway, on to the actual story!**

 _MP: Right. Anyway, you readers should know, it took a lot of time and compromise to decide on which students should be which fairy tales. Some, like Beauty and the Beast, were totally obvious. But then there were challenges._

 **PA2: One challenge in particular really: Max. We jumped from story to story looking for the right fit.**

 _MP: And frankly, we couldn't really agree. Tom Thumb, Aladdin, the Lambton Worm…_

 **PA2: It was kind of exhausting. But eventually we settled on one. And if you payed attention at the end of the last chapter and noticed we're talking about Max here, you can probably guess what we came up with.**

 _MP: Yep. Also, I'm especially proud of the opening scene here. SO APPRECIATE IT!_

 **PA2: MP, what have I said about threatening the readers?**

 _MP: That wasn't a threat. It was an order. A threat promises consequences._

 **PA2: ...I'd argue the point but we'd be here all day.**

 _MP: Who cares? They're just scrolling past this to get to the chapter. I know I would._

 **PA2: Then why do we put so much effort into these skits?**

 _MP: Whatever you do, do with pride._

 **PA2: No argument here. And with that, let's get on with the show!**

 _MP: Remember to review, follow, and fave! Especially review! We like those!_

 **Chapter 6: But a Hero Rose to Fight Her**

"Paris is in panic as Hawk Moth's newest akuma stretches its grasp across the city!"

The exclamation came from an official-looking woman in a mauve pantsuit, sprinting behind a moving news van, a cameraman capturing everything. She was doing pretty well considering the high heels, but that was small comfort as the shimmering white mist constantly encroached on her and her entourage.

"This is Nadja Chamack reporting live as a mysterious white mist is spreading throughout Paris, transforming everything it touches into a fairy tale version of itself! Already half the city has been affected! The Eiffel Tower has been turned into a giant beanstalk, Notre Dame has been wrapped in thorny vines, and there is a troll living under the Pont de Arts, threatening to devour any passersby.

"On the other hand, the Trocadero fountain is spouting red wine and the trees in the Tuileries Garden are sprouting gemstone fruit, so it's not all bad."

She stopped and smiled, before looking behind her and resuming her jog.

"Said mist has been spreading all over the city starting early this morning. Witnesses have said that the fog seems to, on ordinary objects, revert items to a medieval style before adding 'fairy tale' touches, but people have been instantly transformed into peasants, anthropomorphized animals, or easily recognizable characters. In addition, locations of great cultural or thematic importance also see an instant transformation. While the source is somewhat unclear due to the fast rate of transformation, experts close to the scene have determined that the central point is likely to be near the College Francois Dupont, which has become a massive castle. Said experts, unfortunately too distracted to escape the mist, then transformed into three pigs, which fled the scene and barricaded themselves in their homes.

"There have been no sightings of the akuma itself, nor of the city's famed heroes, Ladybug and Cat Noir. As such, it is unclear if they've already fallen under this new akuma's spell, or if they are currently involved in fighting them inside the castle. The fate of our esteemed mayor, Andre Bourgeois, is similarly unknown. Either way, citizens have been leaving the city in droves, as is our news team, which brings up the rear. Until further notice, this is Nadja Chamack saying-"

Her words were cut off as the mist raced forward, enveloping both the reporter and the news van. The van became a cart drawn by a donkey, and the cameraman an artist sketching with charcoal. The cart slowly started to gain gold inlay, and the artist's sketches more vibrancy, but it was a gradual process. Nadja Chamack's mauve pantsuit became an elegant suit of mauve livery embroidered with gold, and her microphone transformed into a herald's horn, which she blew loudly.

"Hear ye, hear ye! Be not bemused! 'Tis only the news!"

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

More bric-a-brac clattered to the cavern floor as another roar echoed through the tunnels.

"We've got to get out of here!" Ladybug shouted, but as she made to swim toward the tunnels, Cat Noir grabbed her arm.

"We can't! If we pick the wrong one, we'll just be cornering ourselves! We've got to wait for it to show itself!" he replied, his face set.

Ladybug, however, just kept tugging at her arm. "Are you crazy?" she said. "We're not prepared to fight something that big right now! Even the Little Mermaid was afraid of it! We need to regroup and make a plan, and we can't do that with this thing breathing down our necks!"

"And we'll do that," Cat Noir said. "We just need to wait for it to show up, then dive towards the farthest tunnel. As long as we have a few seconds head start, we'll have time to figure something out. But if we rush to pick one now and end up getting caught up in traps until it reaches us, we'll be in even worse shape!"

Ladybug groaned. "I hate to admit it, but you have a point," she said. "We can't escape right now - but we can at least scout the tunnels out! Help me find the least dangerous one!"

"You've got it, Milady," he said, before the two swam over to the wall of tunnels and began poking their heads in and out of each one.

"Sharks in this one!" Ladybug reported, flitting out of one.

"This one's full of jagged sea glass!" Cat Noir shouted as he examined another.

Another roar, louder than any before, shook the caverns again.

Frantically, Ladybug shoved her head into another opening, then quickly withdrew it. "Looks clear, and the water's breathable!" she said, swimming over to Cat Noir.

"Good," he replied. "Now, memorize where it is, and swim to the back of the room. If we act like we plan on fighting it, we should be able to catch it off-guard and get away."

"Right," Ladybug said. "But what do we do if it comes from that one?"

"Then we pick another tunnel and hope for the best," Cat Noir said. "Now, you sure you've never heard a story of a 'Peluda' before?"

"Positive," Ladybug answered, nodding slowly. Yet another roar echoed through. "I think I'd remember a story about a monster like _that_."

"Maybe it's deceptively tiny," Cat Noir said, his voice laced with feeble hope. "I remember an African folktale about a caterpillar with a big voice that hid in a rabbit's warren and scared everything."

"Do you really think we're that lucky?" Ladybug asked.

"No, no I don't," Cat Noir said. Suddenly, the two heroes were shaken by a colossal roar, louder than any of the ones before it, coming from one of the tunnels, several openings away from the one Ladybug had found.

"Well, at least our escape route's clear," Ladybug said, heaving a sigh of relief.

"Agreed," Cat Noir replied. "Now, get ready like you're going to attack. We don't have that much time to pull this off, so we better make it count!"

"Mmhm," Ladybug said, nodding as she and Cat Noir primed their weapons. For a moment, all was still, then a massive head burst through the tunnel. It was dark green and scaly, a serpent's face and trunk stretching back into the tunnel. It let loose another roar, baring its foot-long fangs and snapping at Ladybug, who dove back just in time. Something tiny was perched on the end of its face.

"Are those...glasses?"

"Figures that Max'd write about something no one's ever heard of," Cat Noir scoffed. Indeed, closer inspection revealed that Max's signature square spectacles were resting on the Peluda's snout, the sole identifying feature the heroes could see.

"What do we do now?" Ladybug asked, looking over the Peluda. At the moment, it didn't appear to be making any moves to leave the tunnel, but whether it was because it _couldn't_ or it _wouldn't_ remained to be seen.

"Let's charge it, while it's stuck!" Cat Noir yelled, priming his staff but making subtle glances towards their escape tunnel.

Ladybug nodded and began swinging her yo-yo. With a yell, the two heroes charged at the Peluda, who opened its mouth to snap at them, only to quickly change course and practically fly through the opening of their tunnel, escaping into the massive "hallway" within.

"Whoa!" Ladybug shouted. "I never knew I could swim that fast!" she continued as the two heroes raced down the tunnel.

"Adrenaline is a real booster, isn't it Milady?" Cat Noir replied, smirking as he swam alongside her. "Now then, let's try to get to the door out before that thing catches up. That'll give us some breathing room to figure out how to take this thing!"

However, the beast crashed through the tunnel's entrance with another roar, lunging forward to snap at their feet. Now the Peluda could be seen in its entirety, revealing a massive, barrel-shaped body covered in long, green, quill-like hairs. Unusual for a sea creature, it had four turtle feet tipped with sharp claws. Its bare, scaly tail was curled behind it, whipping the water impatiently.

"Well, that didn't last long!" Ladybug yelled as she and Cat Noir began to swim even faster.

"Think it has any powers besides just being big and vicious?" Cat Noir asked. His question was answered when the beast opened its mouth wide and spat out a burst of venom that inexplicably steamed in the water, one which narrowly missed Ladybug's neck.

"I think that answers your question!" she growled. "And since nothing seems to be going right for us today, I'm pretty sure it can do a lot else!"

"Then swim ahead of me, Milady!" Cat Noir ordered. "I'll try to put its eye out!"

"That's ridiculous!" Ladybug replied. "We don't know anything about this thing!"

"I've gotta try! Just go!"

Ladybug bit her lip, but nodded. As she swam away, Cat Noir lunged on the monster, slamming his staff's end into the Peluda's eye. The beast started and recoiled, but it snapped right back, driving Cat Noir away. What's more, when he withdrew his staff, the Peluda's eye appeared totally unharmed. Now even angrier, the beast flexed its muscles and curled its tail tight behind it, causing every hair on its body to point at Cat Noir. With a twist of its massive shoulders, the beast launched several quills forward, filling the water with green shrapnel.

"Look out!" Cat Noir shouted, turning and grabbing hold of Ladybug's legs to drag her out of the line of fire, causing the hairs to speed off into the depths of the tunnel. Turning his head, he groaned at the sight of the fired hairs instantly growing back, restocking its arsenal.

"Let me guess; they grew back?" Ladybug asked, not turning around.

"Uh-huh. And I think we're about to have more incoming! Swim faster!" he shouted, letting go of her legs and returning to swim alongside her.

"Did you at least manage to do anything to it?" she asked as the two swam to avoid another swarm.

"Nope. And I got it right in the eye, too! I think it's invulnerable!" he replied.

"Then we've got to find its weakness," Ladybug said. "There's no such thing as a completely indestructible monster!"

"Typically the eye _is_ a weak point!" Cat Noir snapped. "And more importantly, it's the only place I can hit without stabbing myself to death on those hairs!"

"Then we'll just have to keep brainstorming!" Ladybug snapped back. Privately, she thought, _Something's seriously going on with him. We haven't argued like this since...ever!_

Suddenly, the two tumbled out into another cavern, decorated with countless treasures like the last one, although these were all genuinely valuable. Gold coins and cups littered the floors, and jewelry of every stone and shade hung from a life-sized white marble statue of a familiar young man on a plinth.

"We must've reached the end of the tunnel without realizing it!" Cat Noir shouted, turning to face the tunnel's exit with a grimace on his face. He was pointedly ignoring the statue, but Ladybug was enraptured by it.

 _Oh, Adrien,_ she thought dreamily. _You're almost as gorgeous in marble as you are in person. I should have known Chloe would find a way to put him on a pedestal, and I'm actually glad she did!_

"Come on!" Cat Noir yelled. "Focus! We need to either find a tunnel and buy some more time or figure our plan out now!"

"You go ahead!" Ladybug told him. "My yo-yo has better range! I'll find its weak point!"

"Absolutely not!" Cat Noir shouted. "I'm not leaving you!"

"You made me leave you earlier!" she said. "Look, I trusted you could handle it then, now trust me to handle it now!"

Shaking his head, Cat Noir chose another tunnel and swam away as Ladybug spun around to face the exit tunnel, which was soon filled by the Peluda's head. She twirled her weapon and launched it at the creature's neck. The water slowed the yo-yo, but it still had enough force that it should have left a mark. Instead, it only angered the beast further. It roared as it slowly dragged the rest of its body out of the tunnel, filling the bulk of the room and collapsing the tunnel it had entered from..

 _Guess that's not it!_ A frown on her face, Ladybug quickly reeled her yo-yo back in and launched it, this time aiming for the Peluda's torso, to much the same effect.

 _Not the head, not the body,_ she thought, her mind racing. _Don't tell me I have to hit a specific quill!_

Annoyed, she continued launching the yo-yo, striking the dragon's paws, its teeth, its quills, all completely ineffective.

By this point, the Peluda had had enough. It spat a shot of venom that Ladybug only barely dodged, then shot its neck out and tried to bite her in half. Now with little recourse, the superheroine chose a tunnel and fled.

This tunnel, which left Ladybug holding her breath, was large occupied by some of the most beautiful fish that Ladybug had ever seen. They were slightly smaller than a football, with orange and white stripes, and magnificent spines sticking out all over its body, almost like little Peludas.

 _Those are lionfish!,_ she realized, her mind racing. She had seen them in the aquarium once. She had also remembered that those spines were, if not deadly, then at least very venomous.

A crash from behind her and another roar from the Peluda brought Ladybug back to the full scope of the situation. Spinning her yo-yo like a propeller again, she raced her way around the spiny fish as quickly as she could, avoiding more shots of the Peluda's venom.

The Peluda, on the other hand, simply barreled through, knocking aside and even swallowing lionfish that came too close.

 _It's not even vulnerable on the_ inside _?!_ Ladybug thought, now panicking as she looked over her shoulder at it. _That's usually the loophole with these things!_

The superheroine took a gasping breath as she exited the tunnel. She recognized this room - it was the same one where the Little Mermaid had just been buried under her own treasures. Cat Noir was already there, and he rushed over to her.

"No luck?" he asked, extending a hand.

Ladybug shook her head. "Everything I've seen is invulnerable!" she complained. "And I don't think _any_ of these tunnels will keep it from following us. We'll need to take it down before we can leave!"

"There must be an answer!" Cat Noir told her. "There always is!"

They had little time to talk, though, as the Peluda's head burst out of the tunnel, still snarling, and somehow with those glasses still perched on its nose. As the monster struggled to press its huge form through the slightly-too-small opening, Ladybug and Cat Noir took the opportunity to flee again, diving through a random tunnel. Fortunately, they were still able to breathe in this one. Oddly, though, it was filled with nothing but brightly colored coral, extending from all over the walls and floor to create a sharp, thorny corridor.

"Great!" Cat Noir moaned. "That thing'll just barge right through while we have to make sure we don't get skewered!"

"Let's take what little breathing room we've got and start moving!" Ladybug yelled. The two heroes quickly began weaving their way through the coral, taking care to avoid brushing up against it. They had made a decent start when a crash from behind got the duo's attention.

"It smashed the tunnel it just came out of!" Ladybug announced, looking back. "I knew it; it's been creating dead ends this whole time!"

"Then we'd better be careful what tunnels we choose!" Cat Noir cried. He quickly resumed swimming, but his arm lightly brushed against one of the coral points as it did so. Cat Noir's reaction was a lot more extreme than Ladybug expected, howling in pain at the tiny touch.

"Ladybug, be careful!" he shouted, grimacing. "This is fire coral!"

"Fire coral?" Ladybug repeated, tilting her head.

Cat Noir groaned. "I don't have time to explain the full scientific details. Suffice it to say that just touching it is basically the same as getting stung by a jellyfish. It's not deadly, but we can't afford to waste any more time hurting when we need to be swimming."

His point was further made as the Peluda poked its head through the tunnel, still roaring and spitting venom. Ladybug grabbed Cat Noir by the wrist and continued swimming, staying as close to the center of the tunnel as humanly possible as the monster shoved itself in and chased them down. In a few moments, Cat Noir tapped against her arm and gave her a thumbs up, and she let him go with a nod. The two picked up speed, moving through the corridor as quickly as possible while the Peluda crawled through, closing in fast as it recklessly smashed aside most of the fire coral.

"It's too fast!" Cat Noir shouted. "We can't lose it!"

He was right; the Peluda was almost upon them, its neck fully extended and its fangs mere feet away. Still roaring and snarling, the dragon inched forward, only to stop short. It went silent for a moment, then let out what was unmistakably a howl of unbearable pain.

"Huh?" Ladybug and Cat Noir said, instinctively turning to look back. The monster was thrashing in agony, howling and screaming. They hadn't attacked, so the fire coral had to be responsible. However, it didn't have a mark anywhere they could see.

Suddenly, Ladybug's eyes lit up. "Its tail…" she said. "That's it! That's what its weakness is!"

"Of course!" Cat Noir added as it dawned on him. "That's why it wasn't hurt until this far in the tunnel!"

"And why it was destroying hazards instead of dodging them!" Ladybug continued. "It was trying to clear enough space to keep its tail safe!"

The Peluda, still unable to move from the pain and somehow even angrier than before, continued to roar and spit out more venom with little concern for the target. The acidic poison burned through fire coral and cave walls as the beast thrashed its claws and long neck. From the sound they heard, its tail thrashed as well. Then there was a crash, and an even bigger howl of agony.

"What was that?" Cat Noir asked.

"It must have caused the entrance to cave in early!" Ladybug replied. "Now's our chance! Quick, let's make our way back around before it frees itself!"

The two swam as fast as they could and exited the tunnel, now back within the cavern with the statue of Adrien, and swam back through the yet another tunnel, this one full of bad-tempered moray eels. Thankfully, it led back to the treasure room. The Peluda's tail was sitting inside a mostly collapsed cave entrance, still thrashing wildly.

"We found it!" Cat Noir announced. "What now? Blunt force won't kill this thing!"

Glancing around, Ladybug spotted something familiar on the cavern floor. It was the very dagger which the Little Mermaid had used earlier. She swooped down to grab it and, with all of her strength, slashed it across the monster's tail. The Peluda let out its most pitiful wail of all as the sharp blade pierced its tough skin. The tail fell away, and both tail and body dissolved into bubbles and disappeared.

"Well," Ladybug said, wiping her brow as the cave entrance finished collapsing. " _That_ was exhausting!"

"Are you sweating underwater?"

"Yeah. I'm really starting to hate this place."

"Agreed," said Cat Noir with a shake of his head. "Let's find the exit, already."

Ladybug groaned. "Forgot we actually had to find it. It's going to take forever to search through this maze!"

Cat Noir raised an eyebrow. "Is that really such a bad thing, though?" Seeing the look on Ladybug's face, he raised his hands in front of him defensively. "No, really! I mean, I know neither of us likes it here, but now it's clear of things actively trying to kill us. At least it gives us time to rest and catch our...whatever counts as breath down here."

"You're not wrong, but we really can't afford to take a break!" Ladybug snapped. "The entire city is at stake, and if we don't find Frau Märchen by sundown, who knows what she'll do! We need to get out of here as fast as possible!"

"Alright, alright!" Cat Noir replied. "But before you panic, let's check on how much time we have. Hourglass!" he shouted.

The image of the hourglass appeared in front of the heroes, showing that it was about a third of the way filled.

Ladybug took a slightly relieved sigh. "Okay, not as bad as I was expecting, I'll admit. But we still need to get moving, otherwise we'll burn through all our time in this maze," she said.

"Fair enough, Milady," Cat Noir said. With a shout of "Hourglass!" to banish the image, the two heroes made their way towards a tunnel, only to be halted by, of all things, a fishing line tipped with a dancing gingerbread man, descending from the cavern's ceiling, which had apparently dissolved right after the Peluda's defeat. This gingerbread man was modeled after Principal Damocles.

"Okay, she's really dropping the pretense here," Ladybug observed. "I mean, now she's _literally_ baiting us!"

"Yeah, but if it's this or the maze, I'll take this." Cat Noir replied. "I may think we need a bit of a break, but I'm not passing up a quicker option if there actually is one."

"Fair enough," Ladybug said, swimming over to the fishing line. "And hey, at least we _know_ it's a trap. Shall we?"

"We shall, Milady," Cat Noir said, smiling as he joined Ladybug. Together, the two grabbed onto the fishing line, which suddenly shot upwards, dragging the two heroes with it.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Frau Märchen sighed as she watched the heroes fly upward on her magic mirror, having wanted to view her challengers in a more personal manner than the castle interface provided. "I'm disappointed in how pointless that all was. Are any of my minions going to provide me with proper entertainment?"

" _I would have other concerns if I were you,_ " came the voice of Hawk Moth. " _So far this exercise has been a colossal waste of perfectly useful villains. I'm beginning to doubt that any of your_ guardians _will defeat Ladybug._ "

"You're not alone in that, Hawk Moth," Frau Märchen said, smirking. "Still, what's important is that they're creating an interesting story. The longer I have before she fights me, and the more obstacles she has to face, the less of a chance she has to win."

" _As you've already said,_ " said Hawk Moth. " _Your repetition is lessening my confidence in your planning abilities. If I find that you've wasted all of this time for nothing, you will_ not _live to rule your kingdom happily ever after - or at all._ "

"Worry not, Hawk Moth," Frai Märchen replied. "Just be patient for a few more hours. It may be a winding road, but at the end of all this, you and I will receive exactly what we deserve," she finished, before cackling madly as she stared at the heroes in her magic mirror about to confront their next opponents.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Okay, once again, Mr. Damocles," Mayor Bourgeois said to the owl as he paced his office for what felt like the ten-thousandth time that day. "If I surrender, then Frau Märchen will seize control of our fair city without struggle. I could be saving countless people from harm, but condemning them to life as her slaves!"

Damocles merely cocked his head at this.

"Yes, yes, Ladybug and Cat Noir could - no, _will_ come through for us, but I'll come off as an ineffective coward! Paris _needs_ a strong leader!"

Damocles let out a low hoot.

"I _know_ there's another side to it! If I resist, I'll have placed the entire city in terrible danger! Already there's havoc going on as people are trying to flee, and it won't be getting any better! And even if - no, _when_ Ladybug and Cat Noir defeat her, I could come off as reckless and stubborn!" He threw his hands up in defeat. "Oh, why do I have to deal with all this akuma nonsense? I miss the days when you could be a little insensitive or rude and only have to worry about apologizing properly. Now every hurt feeling puts Paris at risk of a supervillain attack!"

Owl Damocles just stared at him, cocked his head ninety degrees, and hooted.

"Yes, I know I'm getting off track! I only have a few more hours to make my decision - but what is it?"

Damocles gave no response, save for delicately picking at his wing with his beak.

"I have to be firm, Damocles!" Mayor Bourgeois snapped. "I have to be the leader Paris deserves. That's it! I won't do it! I won't submit to her threats, and what's more, I won't hide behind the safety of indecision any longer!"

Snatching up Frau Märchen's letter, Mayor Bourgeois impulsively tore the document in half. At once, the room darkened. A white fog drifted from the torn page, snaking around the mayor.

" _Bad choice, Andre!"_ Frau Märchen's voice rang, as the mist curled around and enveloped the mayor.

The mist penetrated the mayor's suit, and the threads began to unravel, dwindling his suit into nothing. His shirt, his sash, and even his boxers followed suit, until a dazed Andre Bourgeois was left standing in his office, naked as the day he was born. Despite this, though, he had a dopey grin on his narrow face as he turned to face a nearby mirror.

Owl Damocles could do nothing but shake his head as the mayor admired himself, preening and showing off what was surely the finest set of robes the world had ever seen.


	7. And Fought Her Way Through the Palace

_MP: Welcome back! Looks like we got a lot of positive feedback for that last chapter! I knew they'd love a more obscure story._

 **PA2: I think it had more to do with the big action sequence. Anyway, welcome to the halfway point of the story!**

 _MP: Can you believe how much more there is? It's crazy, right? Crazy awesome!_

 **PA2: Yep, and this is halfway in terms of chapters. In terms of the story document, we still have a ways to go.**

 _MP: Yeah, this is more like three-fifths. And the best is yet to come._

 **PA2: In our opinion at least. And hopefully yours too!**

 _MP: Yeah, you're allowed to have a different opinion than us, just like I'm free to have the opinion that you're stupid if you disagree with me._

 **PA2: Can we please go through the rest of this fic without you insulting our readers again?**

 _MP: And just what am I supposed to say to entertain them?_

 **PA2: ...Clone High quotes?**

 _MP: Hilarious, but I want to be original. By writing a story about characters invented by someone else._

 **PA2: And now we've officially gone too meta to continue. Enjoy the chapter, everybody!**

 _MP: Fave, follow, and review! If not for me, then do it for the adorable puppy I'm maybe holding! You can't prove I'm not!_

 **Chapter 7: And Fought Her Way Through the Palace**

Ladybug and Cat Noir collapsed through the next doorway, panting hard. As they stumbled back into the entrance chamber, they barely were able to keep themselves upright, bracing themselves against the hourglass, which was now three quarters of the way filled.

Since defeating the Peluda, the heroes had gone through quite the ordeal. That fishing rod had hoisted them onto a boat controlled by the Fisherman and his Wife, and the Wife kept transforming into bigger and scarier forms with the Fisherman's help. This lasted until Ladybug had the bright idea to trick her into turning into a giant fish, saying that it was the fish that was truly powerful, not her. Stranded on the boat, it was easy for the two heroes to finish her and her defenseless husband off.

The boat then moored on a dock, which led them to the entrance chamber, whereupon they opened a door leading to a demonic-looking island. There, they were accosted by a young man called Momotaro, who fought them with a sword and three energy animal companions, a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant, and protected himself from attacks by conjuring a giant peach around himself. Cat Noir finally speared the peach on his staff and impaled poor Momotaro. The boy's energy animals disappeared soon after, and another door led them to a tall tower covered by ropes of golden hair, which the heroes had to scale to reach the top. Once there, they had to contend against Rapunzel, who manipulated waves of tears that induced enough bliss to halt them in their tracks, leaving them open for her to strangle them to death with her hair. After frantically running around the enclosed space, Cat Noir managed to lead Rapunzel to the tower window and trip her, causing her to fall out and crash to the ground.

The tower's staircase led deep underground, to a cave of gold and silver where Aladdin and his Djinn awaited, one on offense and one defense, both of which were operating at once. Ultimately, thanks to Cat Noir's evasive maneuvers, the offensive Djinni of the Lamp ran headlong into the defensive Djinni of the Ring, stunning them both and giving Ladybug time to smash the lamp and ring, leaving Aladdin open for the finishing blow.

The next door took them back to the entrance chamber once more, and their next choice led them to an opulent palace filled with cats, presided over by the White Cat. As she commanded her cat army to strike, using surprisingly skilled military tactics and a powerful arsenal, Ladybug had to keep Cat Noir focused, as the White Cat had what she assumed was some sort of alluring aura that kept on distracting him. Fortunately, even with Cat Noir's distraction keeping him on the sidelines, Ladybug was able to find a vulnerability in the White Cat's formation, and dealt her a blow which finished her off.

As they walked through the palace, the air began to grow colder and colder, the walls transformed into ice, and they soon found themselves confronted by the Snow Queen. She pummeled them with waves of ice and snow, blinding them with stinging snow flurries and creating illusions to distract them and hide her presence. But with Cat Noir's enhanced senses, the heroes were soon able to beat her illusions and take the frozen monarch down.

The next door led them to a rocky coast where they were confronted by Princess Vasilisa and her archer husband, who fired volleys of arrows at them as his wife called an army of crabs from the sea, leaving the two heroes unable to attack from the land, air, or sea. Finally, Ladybug whipped her yo-yo just right and sent a crab flying directly into the face of the archer's horse, startling it and causing it to rear up, throwing the archer into the sea and giving Ladybug and Cat Noir the necessary opportunity to finish them both.

After finding the doorway out, they exited into a barn where Henny Penny was cowering and eating gingerbread men as she awaited the fall of the sky. She then increased gravity in the room to a staggering level, causing the roof to start collapsing and sending Ladybug and Cat Noir to the ground with such force that their knees nearly exploded under them. Forced into a crouch, Cat Noir kept the roof from caving in over them by holding it up with his staff. Just before the staff could break, the ceiling broke instead, and Henny Penny was knocked out by a piece of scaffolding.

Finally, in a mission far more tedious and time-consuming than outright dangerous, a woman refused to open the next door until they got her pig to jump over a fence. Said pig wouldn't respond to bribery, and Cat Noir's claws got no reaction. Apparently, only a dog's bite would do the trick. And when they found the dog, they also found that it wouldn't do anything until a stick beat it, not even moving when Cat Noir whacked it with his staff. Naturally, the stick proved equally annoying, as it could talk, couldn't be picked up, and would only beat the dog if it was burnt by fire, and so on and so forth. Ultimately, after wasting a full hour on the task, they succeeded in getting the pig to jump, but not without trekking through what seemed to be a room the size of the city of Paris and talking to a cow, a butcher, a cat, a rat, and a rope, among many other animals and inanimate objects.

And now the two were back in the entrance hall, tired, frustrated, and more determined than ever to stop the wicked witch who had trapped them. Also, more than a little annoyed at the gingerbread man modeled after Nino urging them to catch him.

"Okay," Cat Noir sighed. "How many doors have we checked now?"

"Who can remember?" Ladybug answered. "Besides, we can't waste time counting the ones we've been through. We just have to keep moving and be thankful that they close themselves when we're done with them."

"Right," Cat Noir, said, pushing himself upright and stalking over to a door, smashing the Nino gingerbread man as he passed it. "Then let's get on with it."

The door swung open with a creak, leading down a long, narrow corridor. The two walked through, only for the door to slam shut behind them, plunging them into darkness. However, light quickly bounced off the walls in patterns that seemed strange until the room was fully illuminated, revealing to the duo that the walls were made up of funhouse mirrors. Ladybug took a moment to stare at one, watching her bug-eyed, big-headed, and tiny-legged reflection, even chuckling slightly, before Cat Noir seized her by the arm and marched her forward.

"What's wrong?" Ladybug asked, albeit with an annoyed tone at the rough treatment.

"We're running short on time after that last story," he said. "We can't be fooling around when there's work to be done."

Ladybug raised an eyebrow, but didn't respond. As she was walked through the corridor, a shadowy figure darted behind her reflection. She turned on the spot, but saw only more mirrors. 

At the pace they were going, they reached the end of the corridor quickly, walking out into what looked like a strange combination between vanity, funhouse, and boudoir. There were mirrors of all shapes and sizes in the room, hanging from the walls, embedded into the floor, and even one which made up the entirety of the ceiling. Despite their odd shapes, they were all regular mirrors, showing a crystal clear and absolutely perfect reflection of their surroundings. Propped up against the wall were three queen-sized canopy beds, each one uniquely designed but oddly decorated. The first was bright green and floral themed, surrounded by an emerald thorn bush, with an insignia bearing the symbol of a red rose with its stem wrapped around a spindle. The second was aqua blue and animal themed, surrounded by glass and gold furniture and animal figurines, and with a seal of a glass slipper atop a pumpkin. The last was a rich red and decorated with images of mystical creatures, surrounded by statues made of gems, and with a coat of arms of an apple at the center of an ornate hand mirror.

All three beds were unoccupied.

"Okay…" Ladybug muttered. "I think I know who we're going to be fighting here...but where are they?"

"Knowing our luck, we're about to find out," Cat Noir replied, crouching into a ready stance with his claws out.

Ladybug made to follow suit, but had barely enough time to reach for her yo-yo before she caught a glimpse of something in one of the mirrors, one which was right at eye-level.

She gasped, and instinctively rolled out of the way as a dagger shot out of the mirror, flying forward and striking the wall, sending it clattering to the ground.

"Milady!" Cat Noir yelled, moving to go to her, only to have to jump out of the way of a hedge of thorns that burst out from under him. As he moved through the air, he quickly turned his body to avoid two other projectiles which flew at him. Just narrowly avoiding getting hit, his eyes widened when he saw what they were: glass sculptures which resembled sparrows.

He landed in a crouch next to Ladybug, quickly extending a hand to help her up. "Well, looks like you weren't wrong," she said, priming her yo-yo.

"Aw," came a familiar sweet and simpering voice. "We didn't manage to hit _either_ of them!"

"Don't worry," came another voice, this one low, but with an enticing huskiness. "That just means that we have plenty of time to show them what we can do."

"Exactly!" came a third voice, this one almost unrecognizable thanks to the confidence and sadism it exhibited, nothing like its timorous former self. "The longer this goes, the more we get to demonstrate just why Frau Märchen kept us in reserve."

Suddenly, a mirror embedded in the floor in front of the beds began to glow, and three shadowy figures rose out of it. When they had completely emerged, the light faded, revealing Ladybug and Cat Noir's next opponents in their entirety.

Rose was standing at the far left, clad in a flowing green dress not unlike that of Beauty's. However, this one was much more ornate and old fashioned, with an incredibly high collar, and was decorated with shimmering emerald and ebony thorns rather than flowers. For once, Frau Märchen had left her victim's hair as it was, and a golden crown with a ruby rose was perched daintily atop her pixie-cut blonde hair. The beautiful image was offset, however, by the dangerously spiked black thorns coiling around the base of her dress and emerging from the sleeves.

On the far right was Sabrina, wearing an ornate gold evening gown covered with gems in every color, forming abstract shimmering patterns along the fabric. Her auburn hair was topped with a crown made out of rainbow-tinted glass, casting bright lights all around the room. The same glass made up her slippers, low-heeled and perfect for dancing, tastefully exposed by her dress. Atop each shoulder was perched a glass bird, both of which made up for their use of normal glass with their incredible detail, each individual feather clearly visible.

Finally, Juleka stood in the center, resting a hand on each of the others. Her dress was a rich velvety black, inscribed with mystical sigils in gold thread. The starkness of the color served to offset her pale skin, white as snow, with a rosy tint that made it beautiful instead of unsettling. Her long black hair was enhanced by purple highlights and decorated with a golden gem-studded comb perched just to the side of her iron crown, which featured a teardrop-shaped emerald which resembled nothing so much as a drop of poison. Her blood-red lips were set in a menacing smile as she stared at the heroes, who could not help but notice both the ribbon-esque belt around her waist filled with glass shard-styled daggers and how her feet were still hidden within the depths of the mirror.

"Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Snow White," Cat Noir said. "Three deadly ladies all at once? We have to be getting close to Frau Märchen."

"Maybe you are, and maybe you're not," Snow White said, her face not showing any signs one way or the other. "But it doesn't matter either way, seeing as we don't plan on letting you leave here alive."

"But if you surrender, you get to pick which one of us gets to kill you!" Sleeping Beauty said chirpily. "Otherwise, well, I don't think you'll like how we go about it."

"So, what'll it be?" Cinderella asked. "Are you going to give up, or are you going to make us take our frustration out on you?"

"How about option three; we take you down and then take down Frau Märchen!" Ladybug snapped, gripping her yo-yo tightly.

"What Milady said," Cat Noir responded, flashing the princesses a lazy smirk. "After everything your master's put us through, we don't plan on giving up _or_ losing. But if you give up," he continued, looking mockingly at Sleeping Beauty, "we'll make your defeat quick and painless."

"Ugh, so rude!" Sleeping Beauty pouted, stomping her foot childishly. "Fine, we'll play it your way. Snow White, be a dear and get ready, would you?"

"I still think that we should all get in here, but you two are too stubborn to listen to me," Snow White said, rolling her eyes.

"We have our standards, Snow. We deigned to hide with you for an ambush, but any more is simply unbecoming our royal dignity," Cinderella scoffed, turning up her nose.

"You weren't even _born_ royal," Snow White replied, sighing and letting go of her fellow princesses' arms. "But if you insist," she continued, before quickly sinking back into the mirror, vanishing from view.

Ladybug and Cat Noir's eyes widened, and the duo quickly moved back to back, trying to keep an eye on every mirror in the room as realization of Snow White's powers sunk in. "Oh boy," Ladybug muttered. "If she can attack from any of these, we're in trouble."

"You know, you truly missed out when you denied our offer just now," Cinderella said, her voice dripping with snideness. "Snow White may like to stay out of sight, but her poisons are truly magnificent. A single scratch from her daggers, and you would have drifted off to sleep in an instant, nevermore to awaken. Now, I'm afraid you're going to have to contend with us...and we aren't nearly as nice."

"Yeah!" continued Sleeping Beauty. "And you know, your attitude is really bothering me. You two aren't even looking at us! If you don't turn around right now, you're not going to like what happens next!"

"On the count of three, we move," Cat Noir whispered to Ladybug, before raising his voice and yelling, "Oh yeah? I'd like to see that!"

"Ooh! You asked for it!" Sleeping Beauty snapped, before the sounds of rushing plantlife filled the room.

"THREE!" Cat Noir shouted, and he and Ladybug dove out of the way as a massive briar of thorns erupted from between them, sending out spikes in all directions. As the two rolled out of the way, they heard a piercing whistle from Cinderella and looked up to see a flock of glass birds diving down at them. Cat Noir grabbed Ladybug and pole-vaulted them into the air, but Ladybug was forced to spin her yo-yo to shield them from a barrage of poison daggers coming from several adjacent mirrors. As the onslaught continued, the two curled up and rolled through the air, landing on the other side of the room between Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella's beds. The two came back fighting, each leaping at one of the princesses with their weapons primed, but both were knocked out of the air by more glass birds and narrowly avoided more knives.

"Give it up," Cinderella jeered. "You know you can't win!"

"Our combo is unstoppable!" Sleeping Beauty squeaked. She raised her arms and more thorny vines erupted from the floorboards, wrapping around the heroes' ankles and winding up their legs.

"Any ideas?" Ladybug asked as she batted away more birds.

"Just one," Cat Noir answered, hefting his staff. "Cover me for a sec?"

Ladybug nodded and continued her shield tactic as Cat Noir extended his staff and swung it at the nearest mirror, shattering it. Sweeping a few particularly large shards closer, he bent down and picked up the biggest one he could find, then hacked at the base of the thorns to free himself, all the while ducking more of Cinderella's birds.

"Nice one!" Ladybug said, shielding Cat Noir as he cut her loose. "But now what?"

"Hey, I got us this far. It's your turn!"

"Right," Ladybug growled, before swatting away another dagger. As she turned to glare at the mirror it came from, she noticed a flash of black before the mirror cleared. Eyes widening, she turned to Cat Noir and pulled him close. "I think I saw Snow White just now," she whispered. "If I'm right, that means she has to actually move between the mirrors to use them!"

"But what about the times she's launched daggers from more than one at once?" Cat Noir asked, all the while swatting birds with his staff.

"They all came from adjacent mirrors, right? Maybe certain mirrors act as 'hubs' that she can use to access a couple at once or something. If I'm wrong, then we're not any worse off, but if I'm right, then I might have a way to deal with her."

"Which is?" Cat Noir replied. Ladybug then looked down meaningfully at the shards from the broken mirror, and Cat Noir grinned.

"Lock her down or force her out," he murmured, before turning to face the nearest mirror. "Works for me!" he continued, before bringing his staff down on it, shattering it into miniscule shards.

"Oh no you don't!" came Sleeping Beauty's voice as another briar erupted in front of the heroes, striking at them with vicious thorns.

Cat Noir ducked and dodged out of the way, bounding over to and smashing another mirror as he did so. "Nice try, but no dice!" he laughed. "Keep us away from one mirror and we'll just break another!"

"That's the problem with you ladies!" Ladybug continued, smashing mirrors with her yo-yo. "You don't have any way of fighting us up close! Once we stop Snow White from taking potshots, you'll be sitting ducks!"

Much to the heroes' surprise, rather than get furious, the two princesses actually started to laugh.

"Really? That's what you think?" Cinderella asked, chuckling. "True, we may prefer a 'hands-off' approach, but if you're stumbling onto our dear Snow White's weakness, then it appears we have no choice," she continued, before reaching up and grabbing the two birds off of her shoulders. In a flash of light, the birds transformed into glass short-swords, exquisitely decorated with avian imagery on the hilts.

"Yeah! We're not letting you stop Snow White, no way no how!" yelled Sleeping Beauty, making a sharp movement with her arms. Suddenly, two metal spindles emerged from her sleeves, mounted on thin whips which she proceeded to spin at intense speeds, actually generating a slight breeze in the process. And of course, the briars and birds were still active even as the princesses advanced on the heroes.

Ladybug and Cat Noir gulped and looked at each other. "So, should we take the one who matches our style, or…?" Cat Noir asked.

"Focus on smashing the mirrors," Ladybug replied. "We fight them off if we have to, but our priority should be dealing with the one who we can't actually hit."

Cat Noir sighed. "I had a feeling that you'd say that," he muttered before straightening into a fighting stance. "You want to stop us from taking out your friend? Well then, go ahead and try!" he yelled as he and Ladybug took off in separate directions, smashing every mirror they passed.

Suddenly, Snow White's image appeared clearly within a mirror. She laughed, the first time she'd spoken all battle, darting around the room as she continued to throw her daggers. "Well said, heroes!" she said. "But now that you're on the right track, I can stop holding back!" With that, dagger after dagger came from mirror after mirror, several of which were _not_ adjacent to one another. Snow White was practically dancing between them as Cat Noir and Ladybug kept up their demolition.

Cinderella, meanwhile, took off at high speeds, unhindered by her glass footwear as she darted around the edges of the room, slashing at the heroes anytime she came near them. Her birds, meanwhile, picked up any sizeable shards of glass and carried them into the air, whereupon they became new places for daggers to come, albeit much smaller ones. The rest of the birds absorbed the useless shards into themselves, growing larger and more dangerous-looking as they charged the heroes.

As for Sleeping Beauty, she circled the center of the room, protecting the largest of the floor mirrors. With her extending whips, the speed at which she spun them, their sharpness and heaviness, and of course the ever-increasing array of thorn briars, it was effectively an impenetrable defense.

"This is ridiculous!" Cat Noir yelled, dodging a dagger. He and Ladybug had smashed every mirror outside of the thorn defense, but Snow White didn't look like she was slowing down at all. "All we're doing is making more work for us! What's even the point of all this?!"

"I don't know!" Ladybug replied. "She said that we figured her out, so we're obviously doing something, but I don't know what! There has to be something we're-" she continued, only to stop short.

"Milady?!" Cat Noir asked frantically, turning to make sure she was alright. She was still standing and hadn't been hit by anything, as far as he could tell, but her eyes were wide and she was muttering to herself. "Milady?" he asked again.

"That's it…" she mumbled. "That's it!" she repeated, this time much louder. "It's not that she uses the mirrors; she _is_ the mirrors!"

"What?!" Cat Noir and Snow White both shouted, Cat Noir shocked and Snow White sounding frantic.

"It's the only thing that fits! We never saw her leave the mirrors completely, and that's because she can't! She was holding back earlier, but now she's showing off because she needs to keep us from breaking every last one! After all, she might be able to use the shards to attack, but she can't inhabit them, and that's the important thing! All we have to do is smash every last mirror, and…" Ladybug trailed off, letting Cat Noir come to the conclusion on his own.

"And we'll take her down, permanently!" he exclaimed, grinning. "Alright then, let's take care of her once and for all!"

"Did you forget about us, you brats?!" came Cinderella's voice, prompting Cat Noir to quickly turn and parry her blades with his staff as she tried to slash at him. "You may have figured everything out, but neither Sleeping Beauty nor I have such weaknesses, and we'll take you down long before you can get to the rest of the mirrors!"

"Please," Cat Noir scoffed. "Neither of you are as invincible as you think. With all the emphasis on keeping people away, I'm sure Sleeping Beauty'll go down in one hit if we can get around her defenses, and I know that we can. As for you," he said, staring right at Cinderella "you're pretty well-rounded, I'll admit, but given how little you've had your minions do since pulling out the swords, I really doubt you're good enough at multitasking to actually _beat_ us. Maybe if you'd switched to one? Of course, you'd have to test your luck against mine. So, what's it going to be? Face me blade to staff like an honorable noble? Or peck me to pieces like a peasant brat?" he asked, his grin downright sadistic.

Cinderella's face turned as red as her hair, her rage so great that she struggled to form words. Eventually, though, she let out a piercing "FINE!" as she struck her swords against one another. Immediately, every bird not holding a mirror shard shattered into glass dust, which flew towards Cinderella's weapons and was absorbed into them. When the process was finished, the swords were now larger, more ornately decorated, and sporting viciously jagged edges. She brandished them at Cat noir, screaming, "Let's see how you handle me now!" as she lunged forward to try chopping him into pieces.

Smirking, Cat Noir broke his staff into twin batons and leapt at her, blocking her slices and delivering a solid kick to her throat. As she stumbled away, Cinderella held her blades forward and jumped back up, unimpeded by her gown, slashing one blade low and one high. Cat Noir somersaulted sideways between them and slammed the batons on either side of her head. As Cinderella stumbled back, dazed, Cat Noir swung a baton at her legs, tripping her up and sending her crashing into another mirror.

"You really should have known better, princesses," Cat Noir taunted as he stalked over to Cinderella, who was sitting dazed amid shards of glass. "After all, cats are notoriously crafty." With that, he formed his batons back into a staff and, grinning, brought it down on Cinderella's head. The princesses collapsed onto the ground, dissolving into a cloud of mist which quickly vanished. As it did, all of the birds still floating around the room shattered into glass dust, as did the mirror shards they were holding. Now, the only mirrors left were the ones inside the briar, which was now beginning to extend out to cover the entire room.

"We need to get over that briar!" Ladybug yelled, rushing over to Cat Noir. "Let's vault over and take care of Sleeping Beauty first!"

"Right!" Cat Noir replied, running to the edge of the room with Ladybug at his side. Extending his staff with one hand and wrapping his other around Ladybug's waist, he rushed forward, slamming the end into an empty mirror frame on the floor and using the momentum to launch the heroes upward, flying over the briar. As they began to fall, Cat Noir retracted the staff to its compact form and held it tightly, prepared to extend it at a moment's notice, while Ladybug prepared her yo-yo.

"Stop them!" came Snow White's voice as a barrage of daggers launched themselves from the briar-protected mirrors, all aimed perfectly at the falling heroes. However, Cat Noir and Ladybug gracefully curled their limbs and twisted just enough to pass between them. The move seemed impossible, like dodging raindrops, but they emerged without a scratch and landed perfectly on the ground.

"Start smashing mirrors! I'll take down Sleeping Beauty!" Ladybug ordered. Cat Noir nodded and proceeded to dart to the other end of the enclosure while Ladybug turned to the villainous princess. "We're inside your wall now!" she said, priming her yo-yo. "Give up, and I'll make this quick!"

"You think I'll be easy pickings now that you've gotten past my barrier?" Sleeping Beauty laughed, twirling her spindle-tipped whips and wrapping the cords in thorns. "Dream on!" she cried, launching the whips straight at the heroine, bolstering them with an added snap of the wrists.

Ladybug smiled and twisted to the side, then shot out her yo-yo and spun it at top speed. She inched forward, and the whips were sucked inside the yo-yo's cycle. The more it spun, the closer that Sleeping Beauty was pulled in, until she was forced to save her wrists and drop the whips altogether. Unfortunately, by the time she did so, she was already right in Ladybug's melee range.

"Sometimes, dreams come true!" Ladybug laughed. Then, with one punch to her chin, Sleeping Beauty was sent flying into her own briars, where she screamed and dissolved into mist. Ladybug smirked as the briar followed suit, then turned and began to join Cat Noir in destroying the mirrors.

Meanwhile, Cat Noir was rushing around the room, smashing apart every mirror he saw. Poison daggers flew from every direction, but he leapt and dived, twisted and tumbled to avoid every one as the shards accumulated. As Ladybug joined in, the attacks grew more and more frenzied, but neither of the heroes were deterred in the slightest. In a matter of minutes, the room was filled with glass dust and shards, every mirror but the one in the ceiling completely destroyed.

"Last one on three?" Ladybug asked, smirking.

"Sure thing," Cat Noir replied. Raising his staff, he shouted, "Three!" as he extended it to strike at the ceiling, Ladybug following suit with her yo-yo. With a tremendous crash, the ceiling mirror shattered into glass dust, collapsing to the ground and leaving the room empty of mirrors.

"Well, that takes care of that," Cat Noir said, retracting his staff and returning it to his back. "Funny, I was expecting Snow White to do a little more before we took her out. I mean, she didn't even use that ceiling mirror for anything!"

"Maybe it was just for show. I mean, we still don't know how her mirror powers really worked. But you're right about her not doing anything. It's almost like she wasn't...in...danger…" Ladybug drifted off, before her eyes widened.

"What is it?" Cat Noir asked.

"The mirrors in the hallway!" Ladybug shouted. "They're all still intact! Snow White must've retreated there once she knew that there was no stopping us here!"

"Then let's get over there and finish the job!" Cat Noir replied, turning and rushing towards the entrance leading back to the hallway, Ladybug following close behind. However, when he looked through it, he stopped short. "Um, we might have a bit of a problem here…" he said.

"What?" Ladybug asked, before she got a look at the hallway and gasped. An uncountable number of daggers were flying through the mirrors, creating an impenetrable blockade of poisoned glass. In addition, several mirrors had seemed to "flow" out of their frames, coating the floors and ceilings and shaping themselves into further hazards, including monstrous snapping heads, sharp spikes, and spiralling corridors of blades. Lastly, the hallway had extended a frankly ridiculous amount, now going for what seemed like a mile.

"Well, she's certainly pulling out all the stops," Cat Noir mused. "The hallway must've been the real seat of her power the whole time, otherwise she would have done this stuff back in the other room."

"Whatever," Ladybug sighed. "Let's just make this quick. Hopefully we can get through this without her taunting us. On three again?"

"It's worked before. Three!" Cat Noir shouted again. The two jumped forward and began to shatter everything in their path. Spikes and blades launched at them, only to be met with blunt force from staff and yo-yo. Daggers were blocked and their source mirrors smashed apart with careful precision. Glass shards fell like a summer downpour, and heads roared in frustration, then shrieked as they broke apart as Ladybug and Cat Noir flew to the back of the hall, their focus making quick work of every hazard in their way.

"You'll never leave here alive!" Snow White snarled as her mirrors fell. "Don't kid yourselves!"

"Yeah, yeah," Cat Noir said, rolling his eyes as more and more mirrors were destroyed. "Easy to talk, but can you back it up?"

"Kind of hard to sound intimidating when we're already mostly done," Ladybug continued, absently smashing a corridor with a swing of her yo-yo. "Face it, all your little hallway of death did was buy yourself a few more minutes."

Snow White growled, and continued to launch threat after threat, but to no avail. Within a few short minutes, Ladybug and Cat Noir were standing before the final mirror, which had Snow White clearly visible inside of it.

"You can't do this to me!" Snow White pleaded, all her anger replaced by misery and fear. "Not now! Please, spare me!"

"Believe me, I would if I could," Ladybug said with a touch of melancholy in her voice. "But your 'Mistress' made it very clear how we have to get through this. Sorry, Juleka."

With a flick of Ladybug's wrist, the last mirror fell to pieces, emanating both a shriek and a wisp of white vapor.

Ladybug sighed. "Frau Märchen's going to pay for this," she said quietly. "There's no way I'm letting her get away with what she did to these people, and what she made me do to them."

"Don't worry, Ladybug," Cat Noir said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault. Frau Märchen's the one who set up these sick rules _and_ made us play the game. But we'll win. And when we do, those kids won't care a whit what happened, nor will they remember."

"Yeah, thank goodness for that," Ladybug muttered. "I swear, that's the one good thing about being made an akuma's minion. Anyway, shall we head back? Now that we've taken care of the villains, we should go look for the doorway out."

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

" _I am not a patient man, Frau Märchen,"_ Hawk Moth seethed. _"You are running out of assassins, and Ladybug and Cat Noir still hold their Miraculouses!"_

"I am well aware of the situation, Hawk Moth!" Frau Märchen snapped as she observed Ladybug's progress in her mirror. "But have faith. My strongest servants have not yet been encountered. I assure you, you shall have the Miraculouses before the end of the day."

" _Yes, as you have said many times today,"_ Hawk Moth snarled.

"Because you constantly gripe!" Frau Märchen shot back. "At sunset, my control over the kingdom of Paris will be absolute, and the Miraculouses will be yours, as per the terms of my contract with Ladybug. Even if my servants do not succeed in defeating her, they are slowing her down, ensuring that the clock will run out!"

" _And what if they fail to do even that? What if Ladybug beats them all and is still able to find you before the clock runs out? What happens then?"_

"Then I will use the powers you afforded me, the powers that make me queen...and crush her underfoot like the insect she emulates," Frau Märchen uttered, her voice filled with quiet conviction. "But keep in mind, among my remaining servants are my very best, and she is about to run into two of the strongest even without my intervention. Furthermore, I'm quite well hidden. It's doubtful she'll even make it to me."

" _For your sake, I hope so. If Ladybug not only finds you, but gets through the rest of your minions without using her Lucky Charm even once, then there will be punishment for completely wasting my time."_

"Rest assured, Ladybug's next opponents will all but necessitate the use of the Lucky Charm. And when she does, she'll be ripe for the taking," said Frau Märchen, leaning back in her throne with a slight but satisfied smirk.


	8. Facing Deadly Foes Along the Way

**PA2: Welcome back everybody! We're getting into our favorite parts of the fic, so we're going to be updating more frequently from now until the end. Less time to wait!**

 _MP: The tight pacing sort of demands it, too. We're not evil. Just morally dubious._

 **PA2: You can say that again. Please don't literally say that again, that joke's way too old.**

 _MP: Like I said, I prefer originality._

 **PA2: Fair enough. Anyway, a lot happens in this chapter, and it's one that we're particularly proud of. It's one of our more complicated fight scenes, and I think we did a good job pulling it off.**

 _MP: We dedicate ourselves to quality, and we hope it shows._

 **PA2: Indeed we do. So now, let's get on with the fun! Fave, follow, and review!**

 **Chapter 8: Facing Deadly Foes Along the Way**

"And up we go!" yelled Cat Noir as he hoisted Ladybug up through the door. After leaving the funhouse hallway, the two heroes had discovered that the ceiling mirror had hidden the doorway out. With careful usage of his staff, Cat Noir had managed to open the door and propel himself through, leaving Ladybug to climb up the weapon until he could pull her all the way through. There was a jarring shift as gravity seemed to rotate 90 degrees once they were through, leading to Ladybug flopping on the floor as she fell through the now vertical door.

"This palace makes no geometrical sense," Ladybug groaned as she lay panting on the hardwood floor. "Still, this explains why Snow White never used this mirror. It must have been specially enchanted just to hide the exit. So, any idea who we're up against next? You've been up here for a minute or so."

"Not really," Cat Noir said, giving their surroundings a once over as he retrieved and retracted his staff, then shut the door. The entire area was so dimly lit that it was hard to make out any details, but what could be seen resembled the inside of a wooden hut. "Huts are common fairy tale locales, and I can't make out anything distinctive about this one."

"Then we should have a look around. Is this darkness blocking your night vision?"

Cat Noir nodded. "It's not as bad as when we first entered the castle, but I can't really make anything out clearly."

"Could this be where she's hiding?"

"Doubtful. She loves extravagance and beauty. This is a wooden hut. A nice wooden hut, but still a wooden hut."

Ladybug sighed. "Worth a shot, I suppose. Come on, let's get looking, and stick by me. I don't want whoever's in here getting the drop on us."

"Right," Cat Noir said as he helped Ladybug to her feet. Together, the two started walking throughout the impossibly spacious hut, peeking their head into various rooms but being unable to discern anything of note.

"So, assuming that we get through this before time runs out, where do you think Frau Märchen's akuma is? You ran into her before I did, after all," asked Ladybug.

"Tough call," Cat Noir replied, rubbing his chin. "That black dress certainly could be it. But I think it's in her tiara. She seemed awfully proud of it."

"I don't know," Ladybug said. "Those seem a lot more like part of her costume to me. Besides, the whole thing started in this school, right? It has to be something she would bring with her to a classroom."

"Can't think of anything like that," Cat Noir said. "Then again, I don't know her civilian self too well, so I wouldn't know what she'd have on her."

"We've had a lot of run-ins with her students, so I have a bit more of an idea. From what I can tell, she's really into fairy tales, hence this whole...well, everything," Ladybug said, gesturing at the hut and, by extension, the entire castle. "Anything on her that looks like it could fit that interest?"

"Nothing but the costume stuff," Cat Noir said. "I mean, she did have a mirror on her, but it looked way too fancy to be something she'd bring to a school."

"Akumatized items can be made to look different," Ladybug mused. "It's worth a shot at least."

"Okay, so we have a target. Now we just need to actually find her," Cat Noir said as he peeked his head into another room. Suddenly, his eyes widened.

"What is it?" Ladybug asked as she moved over to join him. When she was able to see into the room, she gasped. There, sitting in the middle of an otherwise empty room, was a giant stone mortar and pestle, covered with runes and glowing softly in the darkness.

"A mortar and pestle…" Ladybug whispered. "Well, looks like we know who we're going to be fighting here."

Cat Noir opened his mouth to speak, when suddenly the entire hut started to shake, tossing the heroes away from the room and against a wall. Torches on wall sconces ignited with a purple flame, revealing that every square inch of the hut was covered in similar runes.

"What's happening?" Ladybug asked, looking over at Cat Noir.

"What's happening, children, is that my house is getting up," came a familiar voice from the room they were tossed away from.

Before the heroes could say anything, the door flew completely open, revealing the mortar and pestle once more. However, now the pestle was being clutched in the bony hands of a woman sitting in the mortar, a familiar woman at that. It was Ms. Mendeleiev, her purple hair covered by a blood-stained green headcloth, wearing a tattered but brightly colored peasant's dress, and her face covered deep lines and wrinkles like a woman twice her age, but still recognizably herself. She even wore her signature glasses. She was wedged deep into the mortar, so cramped that her knees were wedged under her chin, though she displayed no sign of discomfort.

"So many years it has been since a Russian voice has been heard in my house, and now two in one day! Truly this is a marvelous occasion," said Ms. Mendeleiev, grinning to reveal sharp teeth made out of pure iron.

"We're not Russian!" shouted Cat Noir.

"Truly? Well, it is no matter, I'm sure you will be just as flavorful once you're put in old Baba Yaga's stewpot," the newly identified Baba Yaga cackled, licking her lips.

"Let's get out of here! We need to find someplace with more room to fight her!" Ladybug shouted, pulling Cat Noir to his feet. However, before they could do more than turn to go back the way they came, they had to dodge out of the way of a spear of what could be nothing other than solid blood.

"Ah-ah-ah," came the deep voice of their assailant, who was standing in a partially shadowed doorway. "I'm afraid I can't let you leave here. Not after you've been poking around where you don't belong."

The figure stepped into the light, revealing the altered form of Mr. D'Argencourt, now dressed in rich robes of the finest red velvet, his fingers glistening with jewels, a glittering rapier in his right hand, his left hand dripping blood, and his hair and beard both a deep, rich cerulean.

"Ah, Bluebeard, so nice of you to join us," said Baba Yaga, grinning at her partner. "But they do have a point. A hallway is no place to have a proper battle, especially given our tactics. Let's take this somewhere else, shall we?"

With a mad cackle, Baba Yaga slammed her pestle on the ground, plunging the hallway into utter and complete darkness.

"What the-?" Ladybug began, only to stop as she felt the wall she and Cat Noir was leaning against suddenly disappear, sending them rolling across the floor.

"I swear, if this turns into another maze, I'm going to tear their faces off with my bare claws!" shouted Cat Noir as he pushed himself to his feet.

"Don't fret, cat-child. We fully intend to fight you here," came Baba Yaga's voice. "Just needed to do a little...adjusting."

Suddenly, the lights came back on, revealing that the entire hallway had transformed into what could only be described as a giant wooden room, surrounded by posts with skulls on their ends, each skull having glowing eye sockets. Connecting the posts were bundles of fabric, all patterned with a variety of designs to create a pleasingly macabre spectacle. Hanging from the ceiling were bright red statues of screaming women, carved so exquisitely that they seemed to bleed and writhe as the light played off them, accenting the gruesome scene. On the upper parts of the walls were windows, which revealed a darkened night sky and the tops of trees, revealing that they were in a forest of fir trees. And, weirdly enough, Ivan and Mylene's gingerbread people were waltzing on one of the windowsills, although thankfully they weren't singing. In the back of the room, blocked off by the posts and cloth, was a simple wooden door.

"That's some major redecorating," Ladybug said, her mouth gaping.

"But quite convenient," came Bluebeard's voice, prompting the heroes to look at the other end of the room. The two villains were standing there, or rather Bluebeard was standing and Baba Yaga was floating in her mortar.

"Now, we have all the space we need to battle. My knights certainly need room to move, after all," said Baba Yaga, a sadistic grin on her face.

"Um, 'knights'?" Ladybug asked.

"Yes, child, knights!" shouted Baba Yaga, increasing the size of her pestle and slamming it on the floor. Suddenly, three bolts of energy flew in from the windows, crashing to the ground and revealing three magnificent warriors. All three were practically identical, clad in ornate and heavy armor with full face coverings, muscled like a knight out of stories ought to be. However, each of the three had a different color, motif, and weapon. The first one was colored bright white, carried a spear in his hand, and his armor and trappings had golden etchings depicting symbols of the beginning of the day, complete with a rising sun on his breastplate. The second was bright red, with a sheathed sword at his waist and etchings of a darker gold showing images of the bulk of the day, with a noonday sun on his breastplate. The last was pitch black, wearing a bow across his back and with silver images of evening stars and nighttime scenes covering his accoutrements, including a crescent moon on his breastplate.

"Ah, Morning, Noon, and Night. My most loyal servants. Although, I suppose I can't forget my little helpers. They'll be so upset if they get left out," Baba Yaga mused, slamming her pestle on the floor once more. This time, three sets of white gloved hands appeared from thin air, all six of them grasping at the air like they wanted to wring the heroes' necks.

"Wonderful! Another minion with minions!" Cat Noir griped, snarling at the array of warriors and hands. "Why does every other servant we fight have their own entourage?"

"Honestly, I find myself agreeing somewhat," said Bluebeard snidely as looked over Baba Yaga's servants with a disdainful glare. "Those who are not prepared to fight their own battles are hardly suited for combat."

"Be careful what you say to a witch, Bluebeard," Baba Yaga said playfully, but with an undercurrent of menace. "We're rather easily offended."

"Too true," Bluebeard chuckled, before getting into a ready stance with his rapier as the knights and hands began to advance. "Now then, heroes, shall we begin?"

"Where do we start?" Cat Noir whispered to Ladybug as they stood back-to-back.

Ladybug scanned the room. "Take out the knights!" she decided. "We need to clear some room!"

Cat Noir nodded and, without any further warning, pounced on Morning, while Ladybug rushed to meet Night. As she advanced, swinging her yo-yo, Night quickly grabbed his bow, strung it, and fired an arrow of pure shadow all in the same motion, stopping Ladybug in her tracks. Meanwhile, Morning had tossed Cat Noir aside with a swing of his spear, and was now firing blasts of searing light at the hero. Cat Noir recoiled in pain as one hit him, and Ladybug fell to her hands and knees to dodge the arrow, but both came back fighting.

"We'll take them out one by one!" Ladybug commanded. "Start with Noon!"

"Got it!" Cat Noir replied, turning away from the white knight and lunging at the red. However, as he drew closer, Noon drew his sword and, with a single swipe, sent a blast of flames at Cat Noir, forcing him to halt. Furthermore, the other two knights didn't simply stand and wait, each raising their own weapons to attack.

"Um, slight problem here!" Cat Noir yelled out as the flames drew closer. Ladybug, seeing this, charged away from Night and his arrows to come around to Noon from behind, striking him with her yo-yo as she did. The blow seemed to startle Noon, who turned around to face her, but it failed to do any noticeable damage.

As she was about to strike him again, she felt a hand clutch one of her pigtails. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the white-gloved hands had grabbed it, and had just enough time to open her mouth before it started pulling her in Morning's direction. The knight brandished his spear, ready to run her through, and Ladybug had to muster all her strength to duck down, dislodging the hand and sparing her from the attack and subsequent blast of light. Two more hands, though, took advantage of her position to deliver solid punches to her gut, knocking the air out of her. Noon then swiped his sword at her, but Cat Noir blocked the blade with his staff, only to be karate-chopped in the back by another hand.

Bluebeard watched on in amusement as all this occurred, but a scowl from Baba Yaga sent him tumbling forward, creating a sword of congealed blood to match the real blade in his other hand, each aimed at one of the heroes, who were straightening up from the hands' attacks. Recovering their senses just in time, Ladybug spun her yo-yo as a shield, hitting the blood rapier and splattering it around the room, while Cat Noir flipped over to block the real blade with his staff.

"You were tougher as Darkblade!" Cat Noir taunted as he attempted to claw the deranged nobleman's face.

"I've no idea what you're talking about!" Bluebeard snapped. "I am Bluebeard, butcher of maidens! And your lady has just fallen into my trap!"

"What?" Ladybug asked, before hearing a whistling noise coming from behind her. Instinctively ducking, she gasped as a blood dagger, in a perfect position to strike the back of her head, flew through the air before colliding with the wall and splattering. "What the heck was that?"

"I can only create so much blood at one time," Bluebeard began as he kept bearing down on Cat Noir, "but I can _control_ as much blood as I have available, no matter where it is. And since you did me the favor of spreading blood all over the room, well, I don't think you need me to tell you what happens next."

"Good luck dodging!" Baba Yaga howled. "Especially when I do this!" With a slam of her pestle, the entire room began to tilt side to side, slowly at first but picking up speed. It was almost as if the entire arena was bobbing side to side, an impression that was confirmed by the suddenly shifting view from the windows. Wherever this room was located, it was certainly moving.

"Will you get off of me already?!" Cat Noir snapped, shoving Bluebeard away and finally getting back on his feet, albeit somewhat unsteady from the sudden movement. "Seriously, at least have the decency to let your enemy stand up while you're monologuing!"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Bluebeard taunted. "A mangy cur like yourself doesn't deserve decency! And classic villain mistakes like that are exactly what we avoid!"

"That's why we're two of Frau Märchen's top assassins!" Baba Yaga added. "And why we'll dispose of you and rule at her side as she promised!"

" _That's_ what she promised you guys?" Ladybug asked, wincing as two hands grabbed her arms and held her in place, with Morning starting to walk towards her.. "A second-in-command position?"

"And a kingdom of our own once Frau Märchen spreads her influence beyond Paris," Bluebeard added. "A haven where we can pursue our passions to their fullest. Frau Märchen's eventual goal is to cover the world in fairy tale kingdoms, but beating you lets us get first choice."

"Seriously? Global domination? She does know that Hawk Moth's still pulling the strings, right?" Ladybug asked, shocked.

"Wouldn't be the first time that a villain got desires beyond their station," Cat Noir said, grimacing. "Besides, for all we know Hawk Moth wants the Miraculouses for something completely different."

"It doesn't matter, because he's not getting them!" Ladybug cried. She pushed off with her feet and backflipped, still held by the phantom hands, and smashed her feet into Morning's chestplate. She then wrested her arms free of the hands and smacked them to the floor with her yo-yo. Cat Noir, leaping over to her, followed up on the strike, driving his staff into the same spot, which now featured a large dent. Morning stumbled back, but Noon stepped before him, brandishing his now flaming sword. Ladybug repelled him with a flying kick, and Cat Noir used his bo staff to trip him up and send him sprawling out on the floor.

With a laugh, Bluebeard raised his arms and sent a barrage of razor-sharp blood needles at Cat Noir, but Ladybug saved him by throwing her yo-yo around Noon and pulling him up to block the attack. The needles skewered the armor, and Cat Noir swung his staff at Noon just as Ladybug released him, sending him flying at Bluebeard.

"No you don't!" Baba Yaga hissed. All six of her disembodied hands flew out and caught the knight just before contact could be made.

In the split-second that the heroes were distracted, Night fired off half a dozen shadowy arrows, but Ladybug pushed Cat Noir to the floor just in time. The arrows flew past the two and hit Noon in the back instead. Now impaled from both sides, the knight crumbled to the floor, unmoving.

The house began pick up speed, tilting from side to side even faster as the forest zoomed by outside. Ladybug, Cat Noir, and even the knights found it hard to maintain their footing, though Bluebeard seemed strangely unaffected.

"Hey! Why aren't you being tossed around like the rest of us?" Cat Noir demanded.

In response, Bluebeard simply smirked. "A precautionary measure. Dipping the soles of my boots in blood gives me several benefits. If I want to stay still, I can command the blood to adhere to the floor. If I want to move, I can glide around without so much as lifting a foot. It truly is killing two birds with one stone, pardon the cliché."

"Don't just stand there monologuing, you hypocrite! Kill them!" Baba Yaga snapped, gesturing wildly with her pestle. Bluebeard sneered at the witch, but turned to face the heroes, as did Morning, Night, and, much to Ladybug and Cat Noir's horror, Noon, who had pushed himself off of the floor and was now brandishing his sword, despite the projectiles still embedded in his body.

"Please don't tell me these guys are immortal!" Ladybug yelled, brandishing her yo-yo at her opponents.

"They're not," Baba Yaga began, chuckling, "but it'll take more than a couple blows to the chest to take them out!"

"Then we'll just keep smashing until we do!" Cat Noir growled.

"Good luck!" Baba Yaga replied as the three knights attacked, launching a blast of light, a wave of fire, and an onslaught of shadow arrows which blended together into a torrent of destructive elemental energy. The two heroes cartwheeled aside, dodging the blast, and leapt back to strike Noon simultaneously. The two blows to the chest knocked the knight backwards and left some sizeable dents on its chestplate, as well as pressing the needles further into the armor, but after a moment, Noon returned to the fray like nothing had happened.

"Okay, so chest attacks are no good!" commented Ladybug. "Aim for the limbs!"

Cat Noir nodded, before slamming his staff into Noon's left elbow joint. The blow deformed the armor, causing his gauntlet to begin falling off. With a sudden sharp movement, Noon brought his sword to bear and knocked Cat Noir aside with a blast of flames, just barely missing him.

"That looks like it got him angry! We must be on the right track!" Cat Noir yelled to Ladybug, only to yelp and dodge another several arrows fired by Night.

With a flick of her wrist, Ladybug struck Noon's gauntlet, and the glove clattered to the floor. Wisps of scarlet energy spilled out of it, taking the shape of a hand for a brief moment before dissipating.

Ladybug and Cat Nor looked at each other, and grinned. "If that's what happens when we take out a gauntlet, how much you want to bet taking out the helmet gets rid of the whole thing?" Ladybug asked.

"One way to find out!" Cat Noir replied. The two heroes advanced upon Noon, who was frantically trying to keep them away with blasts of fire both from his sword and from the gap in his armor where his hand was. Ladybug and Cat Noir effortlessly dodged the frantic attacks, even with the added confusion of the hands attempting to trip them up. In a matter of moments, the heroes were right next to Noon, and with a swing of his staff, Cat Noir knocked the helmet off of his shoulders.

As the helmet fell to the ground, a head made of red energy was revealed with barely more than the suggestion of features. It gave the impression of a glare before dissolving, the rest of Noon's armor collapsing to the ground as it did so.

"One down, two to go," Ladybug said with a nod. She and Cat Noir launched themselves at the remaining knights, but Baba Yaga and Bluebeard were quick to respond. Baba Yaga's helpers grabbed Cat Noir by the ankles and strung him upside-down, then began beating him about the torso. Bluebeard, meanwhile, created a long chain, each link made of solidified blood, and whipped it at Ladybug, catching her around her neck.

With a grunt, Bluebeard swung the chain back, carrying Ladybug with it, then met her with a blood dagger. Ladybug kicked him in the ribs just in time and somersaulted over his head, striking him from behind with her yo-yo. For just a moment, Bluebeard lost focus and his constructs reverted back into puddles of blood, allowing the young heroine to escape his grasp. She swung her yo-yo out and hit one of the hands Baba Yaga was using to keep Cat Noir captive, freeing one of his legs. He, in turn, kicked at the hand holding his other leg, and dropped to the floor, wildly swinging his staff to disperse the remaining helpers.

Leaping to his feet, Cat Noir charged at Morning, swinging at his helmet. Morning attempted to block with his hand, but Cat Noir slammed full force on his knuckles, forcing him to drop his spear. Now weaponless, he had no resource as Cat Noir struck his helmet off with a single blow, revealing a similarly formless head of white energy before the armor fell apart.

As the house continued to accelerate, the armor pieces of Noon and Night began to slide across the room, forming additional hazards for the heroes. Ladybug and Cat Noir were forced to spend over half their time in the air as the unstable floor shifted, leaving them vulnerable to projectiles from Bluebeard and Night. Ladybug did her best to repel Bluebeard's blood needles with her yo-yo shield, but the sheer force of the attacks pushed them back to a wall. Even worse, the blood spattered around the room, giving Bluebeard an even greater range of attacks. Night, meanwhile, slid into a corner and kept firing arrows, making it nearly impossible to get close.

"We need to find a way to take one of them out!" Cat Noir yelled as he and Ladybug braced themselves against a wall.

"That last knight can only attack in one direction! Let's split up and double team him!" Ladybug replied, already shifting her stance. "Ready?"

"Ready!" Cat Noir said, before he and Ladybug rushed off in different directions, circling around the room. Catching on quickly, Bluebeard began frantically directing swarms of blood needles at them, but Ladybug and Cat Noir were able to duck and jump them easily, batting away Baba Yaga's helpers as they did. Meanwhile, Night was frantically swivelling around, firing arrows at one hero and then the other to no avail. His pace increased, but his panic kept him from firing more than one arrow at a time, unlike his earlier multishots. Before long, he was cornered by the heroes, and with a single swing from each, his helmet went flying, revealing a head of black energy for the few moments before it dissolved, sending the empty armor clattering to the ground.

"That's the last of them," Ladybug bragged, breathing heavily. "This job should be much easier now."

"You wish!" Baba Yaga howled, shrinking her pestle down and putting it in her mortar. "Bluebeard," she snapped, turning to her companion, "buy me some time!"

Bluebeard nodded and charged the heroes, forming a pair of swords out of splattered blood. Cat Noir separated his staff back into twin batons, grinning wide.

"I've got this," he assured Ladybug. "You take care of Baba Yaga!"

"Right!" Ladybug said, nodding, before she rushed towards Baba Yaga, swinging her yo-yo. Just as she was about to connect, Baba Yaga's mortar zoomed back, and all six of her disembodied hands caught Ladybug by her wrists and ankles. Baba Yaga cackled as the hands began to shake Ladybug like maracas, all while clasping her hands and staring at the many pieces of discarded armor, which were starting to shake ever so slightly.

"Urgh, get off!" Ladybug snapped, trying to force the hands off by shaking in the opposite direction. While two of the hands lost their grip, the other four merely grasped her tighter.

As for Cat Noir and Bluebeard, the two were engaged in a fierce duel. They were so focused that they didn't even banter, moving back and forth silently as baton met blade in an elegantly brutal dance.

As the groups fought, the pieces of armor slowly gathered in the center of the room, collecting into a mishmash of parts. When the pile was complete, the pieces were obscured by a blinding light, which soon faded to reveal a hideous creature. Morning, Noon, and Night had combined into a colossal armored warrior, blending the motifs and colors of all three knights into a discordantly ornate fusion. The warrior had three helmeted heads and six arms, each set bearing its own weapon, but only one pair of legs. The armored monstrosity let out a mix between a monstrous howl and a knightly bellow as it ran forward, moving with surprising speed for its towering frame as it readied itself to attack Ladybug, who, still fighting the hands, was just turning her head to look at it.

Cat Noir, who had also been distracted by the creature's roar, quickly turned away from Bluebeard and rushed towards Ladybug, tackling her out of the way just in time. As the creature sped past where Ladybug had been trapped, the two heroes rolled along the floor, an action which failed to dislodge the hands from Ladybug. In fact, as Cat Noir got off of her, the two hands who had been shaken off returned to grab Ladybug's wrists, rendering her almost completely immobile.

"Get these things off of me!" Ladybug shouted, only to yelp as the hands lifted her up into the air and flipped her around, suspending her upside-down.

Baba Yaga flew over to her, cackling as her knightly creation walked in Ladybug's direction. "Well now, looks like this is the end for you! Once my knight here slays you, I'll deliver your earrings to Frau Märchen, and my position as right-hand will be secured!"

"Milady!" Cat Noir yelled, getting to his feet, but before he could do anything to help her, he felt blades on his neck and his eyes widened.

"One move and you're dead," Bluebeard hissed in Cat Noir's ear as he positioned his blades in an X on Cat Noir's neck, ready to slit his throat. "Baba Yaga might have Ladybug, but I'm sure Frau Märchen will reward me handsomely for your Miraculous."

"Uh, Milady?" Cat Noir called, his voice wavering with the blades against his jugular. "Now might be a good time for the Lucky Charm."

"But then I'll only have five more minutes as Ladybug!" the heroine objected.

"Better than having _no_ time as anyone!" Cat Noir retaliated.

Ladybug, looking around the room, sighed. He had a point. With effort, she managed to lift her right hand and toss her yo-yo up (which was down for her), shouting "LUCKY CHARM!"

The yo-yo spun in midair before dropping, and an object materialized from the void and dropped into Ladybug's open hand. It was an oblong bottle decorated red with black spots, with a snap lid on top. It was-

"Dish soap?" Ladybug said, mildly surprised by her Lucky Charm as usual. "What am I supposed to do with _this_?"

She cast her eyes around the room, her mind going into overdrive. Hands holding her. Bluebeard's shoes. An armor monster. Baba Yaga's mortar. Curtains on the walls. A nearby front door. Gingerbread men on the windowsill. A plan began to formulate.

With the well-developed wrists of a yo-yo master, she unsnapped the bottle's lid and spun the bottle in her hands. One good squirt hit the nearest of Baba Yaga's phantom hands, letting her slip free to shoot the rest. As the hands tried to grasp her again, they simply slid right off, far too slippery to work.

As the hands let go, Ladybug gracefully flipped herself around in midair, landing feet first on the floor, tumbling only slightly from the house's constant motion. Without missing a beat, she shot another couple of squirts of soap, landing at the feet of Bluebeard and just behind the armor monster, then firing her yo-yo at Bluebeard's knee. He slipped, just slightly, and Cat Noir seized the opportunity to duck down and free his neck from Bluebeard's blades, spinning around and striking Bluebeard's other knee with his staff. Enraged, Bluebeard conjured a spiked stream of blood to strike Cat Noir full-on, but the young hero bent backwards just in time, and the attack instead struck Baba Yaga's monster, which stumbled into the soap was it was struck and slid backwards, smashing its own master into a wall.

"Cat, open the door!" Ladybug cried over Baba Yaga's curses. Cat Noir nodded, ran to the door and flung it open, exposing a beaten path in the forest, and just below them...were those chicken legs running along it, moving in time to the swaying of the room?

The monster tried to step forward, only to fall from the unstable floor and complete lack of traction caused by the soap now coating its feet. However,, the metal composing it rippled as it fell, causing its torso to shrink and widen, and two more sets of legs to grow. It began to scuttle on all twelve limbs, flailing them and trying to crawl forward like a drunken spider.

Bluebeard, now pressed to the wall next to the open door by Ladybug's fierce attacks, conjured a spike-covered shield and a thin rapier as he moved towards Cat Noir, but, without missing a beat, Ladybug wrapped her yo-yo around his ankle and pulled him off his feet. Following her logic, Cat Noir used his staff to push what was once his gym teacher out the door. Bluebeard screamed as a foot came down over him, and all that was left of him was red vapor and a quickly drying pool of blood.

"No!" Baba Yaga howled. "Bluebeard!" Eyes bloodshot, she turned to Ladybug and Cat Noir. "You may have defeated my partner, but I won't go down so easily! Kill them, my beast!"

The chimeric knight screeched and squealed as it inched forward, swinging a sword and spear. Instead of facing it, though, Ladybug jumped up onto its back and tossed her yo-yo at Baba Yaga, wrapping around her arms.

"Cataclysm her mortar!" she cried, struggling in a tug-of-war with the old hag.

"Too risky!" Cat Noir shot back, shaking his head. "If I transform back, I can't protect you!"

Ladybug thought this over, and nodded. "Fine!" she said. "Then get your staff ready!"

Taking careful aim once again, Ladybug shot a squirt of liquid soap into Baba Yaga's mortar. Smiling, Cat Noir caught her from behind and inserted his staff into a small gap in the witch's ride. Pressing down on it like a lever, the old witch was catapulted out, the mortar and pestle falling to the floor as she flew, screaming, out the open door. With a sickening CRUNCH, Baba Yaga was no more, crushed by her own house.

With its master gone, the house ceased its running and dropped to the ground, tossing Ladybug, Cat Noir, the mortar and pestle, two living gingerbread men, and the now-lifeless armor monster into the air for a moment. All of them landed in a heap, and, with a small beep, a dot disappeared from each of Ladybug's earrings.

Cat Noir, noticing this, quickly pulled Ladybug and himself to their feet. "Okay, we beat the minions. Now, we need to get you somewhere where Frau Märchen can't see you!"

"Got any ideas?" Ladybug asked.

"Let's head into the forest. If we go far enough, there might be a blind spot there that you can use."

"And what about you?"

"I'll stand guard. I know you don't want me to see who you are, but I at least have to be nearby to keep anyone from sneaking up on you. Don't worry, I won't peek."

"Okay, then let's get going." Ladybug said. However, as Cat Noir turned to walk out the door, she continued, "Wait! One more thing first."

"What?" was all Cat Noir had time to ask before Ladybug wrapped her yo-yo around his waist, pulled him in, and kissed him. For a few seconds, Cat Noir just stood there, stunned as Ladybug's lips pressed against his, but then he pushed himself away.

"Milady, what's gotten into you? I appreciate the sentiment, but I think something like that should wait until _after_ you're not four minutes away from having a supervillain find out who you are!" he shouted.

"Oh, believe me, this just couldn't wait," Ladybug replied as she unwrapped her yo-yo from around Cat Noir...and then kicked him right in the stomach.

Cat Noir was tossed backwards by the force, but he quickly righted himself and came to a stop near the door, none the worse for wear. "What the?!" he snapped, glaring at her. "What was that for?!"

"Did you think I wouldn't notice?" Ladybug shouted, her expression furious as she delivered a flying kick to his face. She was blocked by his baton, but merely bounced off and landed on a windowsill. "Did you really think I'm that _stupid?!_ You've been acting completely off since the first time I saw you today! You haven't made a single pun, no matter the opportunity! You've been way too vicious and argumentative. And most importantly, you haven't flirted with me once! All this 'Milady' stuff is hardly your usual style!"

She shot out her yo-yo and wrapped it around his legs, tossing him over her head to slam into another windowsill.

"No matter what the situation is, Cat Noir _never_ stops being himself! He never has, even when we've been in worse situations! For crying out loud, we held hands! We were even stuck together once! And you didn't react at all!"

Ladybug launched herself backwards with an elbow press, and Cat Noir struggled to scamper away, but was pressed down under his supposed friend.

"I noticed practically from the beginning, but I ignored it. I mean, how could you actually be working for Frau Märchen when you kept helping me? You had so many opportunities to let me die!"

Cat Noir threw her off of him with a grunt, but she trapped him with her yo-yo as he tried to recover.

"But after hearing what Baba Yaga and Bluebeard said, it all made sense. Whoever takes my Miraculous gets to rule as Frau Märchen's second-in-command! You'd just been waiting for the right opportunity, and taking out the competition in the process!"

She pulled him close and punched him across the face with enough force to send him spinning out of her yo-yo's lasso. With another beep, a second dot disappeared from Ladybug's earrings.

"You wanted me to use my Lucky Charm so you could take me out when I was weak! A solid plan, I guess, but I'd never be able to _use_ my Lucky Charm if I wasn't observant! I know who you really are, Cat Noir - or should I say Puss in Boots!"

For a moment, Cat Noir just lay there, his face hidden. Then, as he tilted his head up, a sly grin spread across his lips.

"Well, well, well...looks like I was the one caught in the trap this time. Well done, Milady," he said, his voice now taking a smoother, richer undertone.

"So you admit it?" Ladybug asked.

"I would hardly insult your intelligence by doing otherwise," he said, pushing himself to his feet. "However, it doesn't matter. You still used your Lucky Charm, and now you have just about three minutes left to defeat a foe who knows your every move, with a Lucky Charm that wasn't made for this fight, and exhausted from an entire day of pitched combat. You might as well save yourself the trouble and give up your Miraculous now."

"Not a chance! If I'm tired, then you must be just as burnt out! After all, you were fighting with me this whole time!"

Cat Noir, or rather Puss in Boots, chuckled, shaking his head. "That's where you're mistaken, Milady. You see, my transformation came at something of a cost, at least for Frau Märchen. I may have been able to take on Cat Noir's form, but I am unable to use Cataclysm or end the transformation, so I couldn't simply give her my Miraculous. Otherwise she wouldn't have bothered with this whole gambit. However, I did get a rather useful power out of all this."

"And I suppose you're going to tell me in the name of wasting more time?" Ladybug asked sarcastically.

"Precisely. Put it simply, I gain strength from surprise."

"Huh?"

"The more I surprise someone - the more I use diversion, sleight of hand, manipulation - the more power I store up. Remember all those times when you or I managed to deal a critical blow, despite everything working against us? That was my power at work. And it doesn't go away when I use it. It just keeps growing and growing. So basically, Ladybug, you're running on fumes, while I…"

With that, Cat Noir snapped his fingers, and his entire appearance suddenly changed. His head and body stayed the same, but his costume was now a comfortable black French nobleman's outfit, complete with a plumed hat. His staff had transformed into a black rapier, wickedly sharp and pointed. His hands were covered by gloves, made of smooth and shining leather. And, most noticeably, his feet were concealed by large, glossy, and richly designed leather boots, complete with golden buckles.

"...I'm the strongest I've been all day," he finished, before lunging at Ladybug, his rapier outstretched to pierce her heart.


	9. Making Her Way to the Witch

_MP: Hello, people of Earth and wifi-enabled asteroids!_

 **PA2: I really don't think there's anyone in space reading Ladybug fanfiction.**

 _MP: Yes, we all know the jokes about how people in space don't care for fanfiction of French cartoons, but it's a stereotype. It's true of some, but not all, and your preconceived beliefs are hurtful._

 **PA2: ...IYou know what, sure. I'm prejudiced against...whatever demographic you're describing. I hope to someday make up for it.**

 _MP: Well, it's a start. Anyway, this chapter, like every single other chapter, was a big accomplishment for us. We actually took some time to celebrate this one._

 **PA2: It was the culmination of a plot point that we'd been building up for over half the fic, and judging by last chapter's reviews, it certainly got off to a good start!**

 _MP: Yeah, it completely overshadowed my cool Lucky Charm…_

 **PA2: I mean, using dish soap to trip people up is kind of expected…**

 _MP: It's not just the Lucky Charm object itself, but the entire plan. Whatever. I'll do better next time._

 **PA2: That I can all but guarantee. So unless MP has anything else to add…**

 _MP: Just my desire for our fine readers to fave, follow, and review!_

 **PA2: ...we can get started! Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 9: Making Her Way to the Witch**

Ladybug dove under the rapier and kicked Puss in Boots in the chest, sending him soaring into the air, but he just laughed and twisted in midair, landing on the ceiling and standing there.

"These boots do more than simply look exquisite," Puss sneered down at her as he caressed the statues on either side of him. "And with my surprise boost enhancing my strength and agility, I can take full advantage of them."

"You have to fall sometime!" Ladybug shouted up at him, glaring.

"I really don't, Milady. With my boots, all surfaces are as the floor to me, including this ceiling. I was initially planning on fighting you directly, but since you did me the favor of sending me up here, I suppose I'll just stay and wait you out. Can't be too much longer now."

"Well, if you won't fall," Ladybug snapped. "then I'll drag you down myself!" Twirling her yo-yo, Ladybug sent it upwards to wrap around Puss in Boots's waist, pulling on it to try dragging him down. At the last moment, though, Puss in Boots gave a slight hop, undoing his magic and causing him to fall straight down, his rapier outstretched.

Gasping, Ladybug let go of her yo-yo and leapt to the side as Puss in Boots landed right where she was standing, his rapier piercing deep into the floor. As he let himself drop all the way to the ground and withdrew his rapier, Ladybug's yo-yo still around his waist, she grimaced.

 _I'm running out of time!_ , she thought to herself. _I probably have just over two minutes left to beat him, and I had to drop my yo-yo to get away from that attack! I could try hand-to-hand, but he just took that fall like it was nothing! Even if his enhanced strength only applies to his fencing, his durability has to be boosted as well, so fist-fighting would be useless! All I really have is…_

She glanced at the dish soap still in her hands. _This was designed to beat Baba Yaga and Bluebeard, and it did. I've never had to use a Lucky Charm against two unrelated villains, but right now it's my best option!_

Wishing herself luck, she shot another blob of soap, this one at Puss in Boots' feet. Smiling, Puss stepped forward, his boots glowing as they touched the soap.

"Thank you, Milady, for your kind gift. Bluebeard's little trick was wasted on him. Now that you've given me the same, allow me to put it to good use!" he said, before suddenly sliding across the floor straight towards her, jabbing with his blade. Shocked, Ladybug ducked and dodged away from his flurry of blade strikes, Puss in Boots not even lifting his feet off the ground to advance upon her.

 _He co-opted the Lucky Charm's magic for himself!_ she thought. _I've gotta do something while I still have time!_ Just then, she heard a beep coming from her earrings. While she couldn't see them herself, she knew what it meant. Two minutes left.

As he heard the noise, Puss in Boots smiled and relaxed slightly in his assault. It was only for a moment, but Ladybug's heightened instincts allowed her to take full advantage of it, grabbing her yo-yo and retracting the string, allowing her to take it back and dive away from her relentless foe.

With another flick of her wrist, she fired some soap at his hand, right at the rapier's hilt. As his grip began to slip, though, Puss in Boots simply tossed the rapier to his other hand, shaking off the soap left behind.

 _Well, that was a bust. At least he's not slip-sliding his way after me right now._

"You know, Milady, this really is rather pathetic. Have you considered just giving up?" Puss asked her.

"In your dreams, you alleycat! I'm not giving up to anyone, especially not to a minion who's using my partner's body like a suit!"

"Oh my, how harsh! But really, let us face the facts," Puss in Boots said, striding confidently over to her. "Your weapon is downright useless against me. Your 'Lucky Charm' has only made me stronger. There is nothing inside or outside this hut that you could use against me. Quite simply, you have exhausted all your options, whilst I can defeat you in any number of ways. Surrender is the only option that doesn't end with your painful demise, Milady. Accept it, and perhaps I'll let you have some fun with this body before I hand you over to Frau Märchen. After all," he purred, now standing right over Ladybug, "I did rather enjoy that kiss."

Ladybug shuddered in revulsion, frantically casting her eyes around the room. Desperate to buy some more time to think, she said, "That kiss was hardly meant for you to enjoy! I thought-"

"That my reaction would reveal who I truly was?" Puss in Boots finished. "Yes, yes, we've established already how clever that was. No need to boast about it anymore."

"You're one to talk," Ladybug snarled back. "And that wasn't my only reason. I remembered the last time Cat Noir was affected by a fairy tale curse. A kiss snapped him out of it then. Why not now?"

"Are you perhaps referring to Dark Cupid?" Puss in Boots asked, snickering at Ladybug's surprised look. "Oh don't be so shocked, Milady. I may not have all of your partner's memories, but I do have that one. Would you like to know why your kiss failed to break Frau Märchen's spell?"

Ladybug nodded, frowning. _Just keep him talking,_ she thought. _He has a big ego, and he knows that the more he talks, the closer I come to running out the clock. It's going to be down to the wire, but I'm going to need every second I can spare to think if I'm to take him out and save my identity!_

"True love's kiss might be a powerful magic in its own right, but its magic is subservient to that of storytelling. You freed Dark Cupid's slaves because that magic was focused exclusively on love, and so love was the key to dispel it. But Frau Märchen's magic is that of stories themselves, and such a tawdry device as a kiss would hardly be enough. And besides, my own story lacked any such mystic spells or magic solution. Honestly, you might have had more luck trying that tactic with Snow White or Sleeping Beauty. It would have bought you some time, at least."

As Puss in Boots finished his lecture, the hero and villain heard a fourth beep from Ladybug's earrings. At the sound, Puss in Boots grinned.

"And so it is that we have come to the end," he said, theatrically gesturing with his rapier. "One minute left, and your identity will be revealed for Frau Märchen and Hawk Moth to see. You shall either fall at my hand, or survive to never have a moment's rest as Hawk Moth hounds you night and day. A fitting end, wouldn't you say, Milady?"

"Oh, I've got a fitting end alright," Ladybug growled as she drew herself up to her full height, spinning her yo-yo. "Me, taking you out!"

"Defiant to the end? I expected nothing less. Come, let us dance, Milady!" Puss in Boots said, smiling as he slid towards her once more.

However, rather than engage him in combat, Ladybug ran away, racing to the other end of the room. There, she looked around, trying to find something that would give her the advantage. As Puss in Boots slid his way across the room, Ladybug caught sight of the mortar, and her eyes widened.

"Hey, Puss in Boots!" she yelled, causing him to turn his head. "You want to take me out so bad? Come in and get me!"

With that, she ran over the the mortar and, grabbing the mouth, flipped herself over it, disappearing behind the rim.

"Really?" Puss asked as he reached the mortar. "Is hiding behind that thing the best you could do? How disappointing."

With a quick movement, Puss stabbed through the mortar, piercing straight through the mystical stone. He quickly made several more holes in close proximity, then tried to peer through. Unfortunately, he could see the other side through the holes, proving he hadn't stabbed straight through. And with where the mortar was positioned, he couldn't walk around it without being in perfect position for an ambush.

"Alright then," Puss said, shaking his head. "The hard way it is." Puss in Boots then lifted up a foot and pressed it against the side of the mortar, establishing a new center of gravity for himself. Now standing on the side, he walked up the colossal vehicle, smirking and twirling his rapier as he slowly got closer and closer to the top.

"Well, I suppose this is fitting in its own right," he mused as he drew close to the opening. "After all, cats enjoy trapping their prey."

"You're right. It is fitting," came Ladybug's voice from behind the mortar. "But not in the way that you think."

"Really?" Puss chuckled. "And why's that?"

"Because _I'm_ the one who's trapped _you_!"

Suddenly, the entire mortar began to tip, causing Puss to gasp. "What the?!" he shouted.

On the other side of the mortar, pressed up against the wall, Ladybug was shoving with her back, tipping the mortar over. As soon as Ladybug had flipped herself over the mortar, she had braced herself against the wall and launched a squirt of soap at the floor. While not much, it was all she needed to get the huge stone vehicle on unsteady ground, allowing her to begin shoving it over, with Puss in Boots still on it.

The villain in question started frantically looking around for an avenue of escape, only to find none. Even if he jumped off, the forced dismount would leave him too unsteady to do anything but wobble about as Ladybug defeated him.

"Still, better than being crushed like a rat," he muttered to himself. As he prepared to jump, though, he was halted by a feeling of something wrapping around his ankles. Looking down, he saw Ladybug's yo-yo string, binding his magical footwear to the mortar. He tried to pull them loose, but to no avail. He even tried taking the boots off altogether, but his feet wouldn't even budge; the boots were too iconic a part of his story for them to be removed.

"Guess those boots' adhesive qualities worked against you in the end!" Ladybug shouted, giving the mortar a last shove as it began toppling over in earnest.

"You...you...LADYBUG!" Puss in Boots shouted, his fine words and calm demeanor having deserted him completely as the mortar fell to the ground, trapping him under it. As it rolled over, he was pressed to the floor, crushed under over two thousand pounds of heavy, magically reinforced stone. When the mortar slammed into the wall, the only signs of Puss in Boots' existence were Ladybug's yo-yo lying on the ground and a rapidly dissipating cloud of smoke.

Not wasting a moment, Ladybug rushed over to her yo-yo and swung it upwards, wrapping it around the two gingerbread men still dancing on the windowsill and dragging them down. Once she had them firmly in hand, she retracted her yo-yo, hung it on her waist, ripped a tapestry down from its mooring in between two skull-headed posts, and crouched underneath it, just as her earrings let out one final beep. In a flash of light, her superhero persona faded, leaving a powerless girl and an exhausted kwami.

Before Tikki could say anything, Marinette shoved the gingerbread men into her tiny hands, thankful that they had stopped moving when they had been grabbed.

"Thanks, Ma-" Tikki started, before Marinette slapped a hand over the kwami's mouth.

"No names!" she hissed. "I doubt Frau Märchen can see us under this, but she might be able to _hear_ us!"

"Okay, Ma…'am," Tikki said, giving a sheepish grin at the near-reveal as she lifted the Ivan gingerbread man to her mouth.

"Are you okay?" Marinette asked. She had never seen the poor kwami so exhausted. Tikki barely even had the energy to chew.

"I'm okay, Ladybug," she said through a mouthful of cookie. "This is just the longest you've ever spent fighting. I'm out of practice!"

"Yeah, I hear that. I can't remember the last time I've felt so tired," she said, sitting with her knees pressed against her chest.

"Ladybug? Are you okay?" Tikki asked, her maternal instincts telling her something was wrong with her charge.

"It's just been an exhausting day," Marinette said, her voice low. "Nothing but fighting and running around and searching and...and…"

"'And'?" Tikki parroted.

"...and accomplishing nothing," Marinette whispered, her eyes starting to tear.

"Ladybug, what are you talking about? You've gone through an army of minions! You saved yourself from a possessed Cat Noir! You've done so much today!

"And none of that gets me any closer to Frau Märchen!" Marinette wept, exhausted and angry tears falling fast. "I've gone through minion after minion, and I haven't even found the slightest clue where she could be! The day's almost over, and I still have who knows how many more fights to go through before I find her! I don't even have Puss helping me anymore! How am I going to beat all the rest of the minions, find Frau Märchen, _and_ beat her in the time I have left?"

"Ladybug, you can't give up hope now! Yes, we're running low on time, and yes, you'll have to face the rest of this alone, but you've never let that stop you before! You beat the Puppeteer without Cat Noir, you can beat Frau Märchen too!"

"But with Puppeteer, I only had to worry about five villains. Here, I don't know how many more fights are left, or how to handle them!"

"That may be so, but that's no reason to stop fighting! I know you're exhausted, but giving up isn't going to make Frau Märchen go away! We need to find her before sundown, otherwise that magic _will_ take your Miraculous and give it to her, and we won't be able to do anything to stop it!"

Marinette wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. "I'm not going to give up," she said, her voice calmer but still a little emotional. "That never crossed my mind. But it's hard not to be pessimistic. I mean, there's not so much time left, maybe two hours, three max, and there are a bunch of rooms left to check. And you're still exhausted from all this!"

"Don't worry about me, Ladybug! I'm ready to go when you are!" Tikki said, smiling as she polished off the last bite of the Mylene cookie. Indeed, she _did_ look much better. "And if you ever get discouraged, just remember Psyche! Think of all the hardships she endured, all of the pain and despair, and how she still never gave up until she was with her true love! If she can do _that,_ then you can do _this_!"

Flying over to Marinette, she wiped away some remaining tear tracks. "Let's get going, Ladybug. Don't worry about how much you have left to do. Just keep doing it. Remember, nothing is ever over until _you_ decide it is!"

Marinette took a deep breath. "Okay, Tikki," she said, her voice resolute once more. "Let's take down Frau Märchen, and put an end to this fairy tale! Spots on!"

Tikki laughed and flew back into Marinette's earrings, triggering the transformation once more.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Back in Frau Märchen's throne room, the eponymous villainess sighed as the tapestry-covered pile in Baba Yaga's domain collapsed as Ladybug triumphantly stood up, racing out the door into the forest. "Well, I wasn't expecting her to be foolish enough to stand in plain view, but she managed to keep me from hearing anything as well. That's impressive."

" _Impressively frustrating,"_ came Hawk Moth's voice, now strained with anger. _"Which is rather the same way I feel about you right now, Frau Märchen."_

Frau Märchen sighed. "I suppose I knew this was coming. Well, go ahead."

" _So glad to have your permission,"_ Hawk Moth growled sarcastically. _"I asked you earlier why you sent out your minions in your stead, and the answer you gave me had sense enough to convince me to follow along with your plan. But now, your assassin and best option is defeated, your forces are drained, Ladybug is restored to full strength, and the one Miraculous you_ do _have is currently completely unavailable to me. Moreover, I have the distinct impression that you have been less than honest with me all day. Your answers may have been true, but they were far from the whole truth."_

"Oh, so you _did_ notice? I was beginning to wonder," Frau Märchen mused, only to wince as a brief but intense pain flashed through her body.

" _Do_ not _test my patience,_ " Hawk Moth said, now alright snarling. " _Not after how this day has gone. But out of respect for your success with transforming the city, I will give you one final chance to explain yourself. If you do not answer this question fully, completely, and honestly, I will make the pain you just felt feel like a light breeze. Why,"_ he finished, _"do you insist on this game, this challenge, this, this..._ fairy tale nonsense?! _"_

"Despair," Frau Märchen said simply. "Despair and power."

" _...Go on,"_ Hawk Moth prompted, intrigued despite himself.

"The more challenges Ladybug is forced to face, the more despair she feels. The more time she takes to find me, the more Paris is consumed by my spell, and the more despair _it_ feels. The more despair is felt, the more my power grows. It's that simple."

" _And why is that?"_

"You created me and yet you do not understand the full extent of my power? But then, my lord, it is not truly surprising," Frau Märchen said, working to lessen her rebuke before Hawk Moth could take offense. "The magic of storytelling is a powerful one, and those who are not fully consumed by it like I am cannot truly comprehend its nuances. But I know enough to make use of it. I have set myself up as an evil queen, a wicked witch, a sorceress ruler. My very presence brings misery upon the populace, who long for a hero to save them. It is a storytelling form as old as time itself, and using it allows my power to grow exponentially."

" _But those villains are always defeated by a hero. That, too, is part of the form."_

"Yes, but by the same token, should the hero be defeated, then my rule will be unquestioned and eternal," Frau Märchen continued. "By having Ladybug go through my traps and minions, I put her through the ultimate journey, challenge after challenge after lethal challenge. And with every defeat, my power as the grand sorceress who rules this land is reinforced and increased. If Ladybug fails to reach me in time, then her Miraculous is mine, and it will be a simple matter to reclaim my power from Cat Noir and relieve him of his. But if she manages to find me, then she will be facing me at my ultimate strength, with a kingdom under my command and an army of minions that she has fought through. And when she falls, for how could she not when she is exhausted by battle, then my power will be truly absolute, and Paris will be mine forevermore."

" _And then you expand to the rest of the world?"_

Frau Märchen scoffed. "Hardly. That was just to tide over the rest of my minions, to encourage them to work together rather than backstab one another. There are more champions out there than just Ladybug and Cat Noir, and inviting their assault would be foolish. No, I shall content myself with Paris, and you will content yourself with whatever you have desired the Miraculouses for in the first place. I have no desire for their power, and no way to prevent you from taking them even if I did, so I shall not even try."

" _A wise choice,"_ Hawk Moth said, annoyed by the arrogance but respecting the intelligence. _"And well-spoken. You have earned a stay from my wrath. But I would not underestimate Ladybug. She could be empowered by your magic as you are, and if that is the case, your victory might not be so assured."_

"Understood," Frau Märchen said. "But I do doubt she will even reach me in the first place. After all, I have a minion of equivalent strength to Puss in Boots, and Ladybug is bound to face her soon. And when she does, there will be no doubt of my victory."

" _You'd best hope so,"_ Hawk Moth pronounced, before his voice faded from her mind. Frau Märchen waited a moment or two to see if he would return, then smirked.

"What a fool," she said simply, grinning her wicked grin.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

In the main antechamber, Ladybug lay against one of the walls, breathing deeply. Her eyes were closed as she rested her head against the painted door she had just come out of.

 _Maybe I should have let Puss in Boots stick around a little longer,_ Ladybug thought. _At least he would have made these last couple fights easier._

After Ladybug had recovered from her battle against Puss in Boots, she had quickly stumbled upon a door embedded into a tree right outside Baba Yaga's hut, one which had led back to the antechamber. Frustrated, Ladybug hadn't wasted any time in walking up to another door, yanking it open and walking through...onto a surface made of clouds. Startled, Ladybug had been caught off-guard when she was knocked away from the door by what looked like a giant golden egg. That had been the precursor to a fight against Jack of Jack and the Beanstalk fame, mounted on the titular giant beanstalk and firing golden eggs from a comically oversized slingshot. As Ladybug dodged the projectiles, she found herself constantly sinking into the clouds, making it harder for her to move as Jack continued firing. She tried tossing her yo-yo at him from a distance, only for it to bounce off of a musical shield conjured by the also giant-sized golden harp at his side, forcing her to try to rush Jack as he hopped from leaf to leaf on the beanstalk. It took some time, but she was eventually able to get in close enough to wrap Jack in the strings of his own harp and throw him down the beanstalk to the ground below.

Climbing down the beanstalk revealed a doorway hidden on a leaf, through which was a giant web which looked as though it was made out of the Milky Way itself. Perched upon it was Anansi, a giant spider with, unsurprisingly, the face of Lila Rossi. The deceitful girl was just as vicious as a guardian as she was as Volpina, weaving illusory minions out of starry silk and sending them at Ladybug. Several varieties of creatures were crafted and thrown at the heroine, moving effortlessly along the web that Ladybug struggled to maneuver through, but guarding Anansi herself were a leopard, a python, a swarm of hornets, and a fairy. The leopard attacked with claws and teeth, the python with fangs and a fierce constriction, the hornets with stings and bites, and the fairy with blasts of starry magic, and she herself lashed out with her sharpened legs, keeping Ladybug at a distance. In the end, however, Ladybug was able to discern that Anansi could only keep her minions physical for a moment, just enough time to attack, and could not actually fight for herself beyond the occasional stab with her legs. Intimidating as she was, Anansi was all but helpless when Ladybug actually got inside her guard, and she was dispatched quickly and satisfyingly.

Anansi's defeat opened up a glowing portal within the web, one which Ladybug had no choice but to leap through. On the other side, she found a deserted grassy field, with a dirt road running through it and a few scattered trees around it. Not an intimidating location...until Ladybug realized that the portal had also shrunk her to about one inch high. Exploring her way through the now maze-like grass, she quickly stumbled upon Tom Thumb, armed with a sewing needle and wearing armor made out of the shell of a walnut. At Ladybug's size, these normally ridiculous armaments were downright lethal, especially with Tom Thumb's own miraculous strength and speed and Ladybug herself being weakened by the change in size. Even worse, the two were constantly dodging swooping hawks, livestock, and carts rolling through the field and along the road. Tough as he was, though, Ladybug ultimately lured him into a trap by tricking him into climbing into a squirrel's nest. The hyperactive rodent cracked open Tom's armor and dealt the fatal blow, Ladybug averting her eyes as it did.

With Tom Thumb defeated, Ladybug was quickly restored to her natural size, whereupon a door manifested leading her back to the antechamber. The next door led her into an empty plain, filled completely with grass. She almost thought she had been somehow taken back to Tom Thumb's arena, only to recognize the difference in the complete lack of trees, road, or anything other than grass. Just when she was starting to wonder where her opponent was, she felt a powerful gust nearly knock her off her feet. Looking up, she was shocked to find Aurore Beauréal and Mireille Caquet, the former clad in billowing gray robes with a crown of clouds perched on her head and the latter dressed in a crimson dress with a crown of sunbeams atop hers, floating in the sky, Mirelle laughing as Aurore pouted. It didn't take Ladybug long to realize that the two former competitors were taking on the roles of the North Wind and the Sun, and their bickering soon revealed that they were treating this battle as a competition. Each girl took their turn trying to defeat Ladybug, the North Wind using powerful gusts, waves of clouds, and intense chill, and the Sun using blasts of fire, blinding radiance, and incredible heat. Unable to reach them with her yo-yo, Ladybug quickly decided her best option was to play them off of one another and hope they got too distracted to keep their guards up. Thankfully, her tactic work, and the North Wind and Sun were soon attacking each other. When they eventually struck powerful enough blows to knock each other out of the sky, Ladybug made short work of them.

Windblown and overheated from the fight, Ladybug was too exhausted to think clearly and plan once a spring appeared in the center of the now devastated plain. Desperate to cool herself off, she dove into the spring, which soon led her to surface in a wide well, deep enough to move and fight in but shallow enough that reaching the surface was possible. Thankfully refreshed and left clear-headed by the sudden transit, she looked up to see that the well was located in a forest and covered with lily pads, one of which being where a man-sized frog with a crown perched atop his head named himself as the Frog Prince and challenged her to a duel. Leaping to join Ladybug under the water, he was just as nimble as the heroine thanks to his long, powerful legs, which also allowed him a degree of movement that Ladybug herself lacked. Worse, her yo-yo couldn't lasso him due to his slimy skin, leaving her forced to dodge and swim around the arena. Ladybug soon learned, though, that while his physical blows and tongue lashings were more effective in the water, he preferred to use his sword, which was hampered by the watery environment. Tricking him into climbing out by playing on his sense of honor, she found herself confronting a skilled swordsman, but one far less skilled than Puss in Boots. From there, it was simple enough to lead him on until she had lassoed him by the tongue, strung him up on a nearby tree branch, and finished him off with his own discarded sword.

A tunnel appeared next to the well, leading Ladybug through a dark underground corridor and into an undersea kingdom, also with breathable water. Unlike the Little Mermaid's domain, the kingdom was open and bright, filled with richly designed palaces of coral and precious gems, built in a Japanese style. There, Ladybug fought against Urashima Taro, riding a turtle and swimming all around the kingdom, attacking her with a fishing rod. Everything he struck aged into dust, from inanimate objects to sea-life, and so Ladybug had to swim frantically to avoid the assault. Eventually, Ladybug was able to drag the fisherman off of his turtle and slam him into the side of a palace, causing his hold on the line to slip and the hook to glance off of his arm, causing him to age to death instantly.

The turtle then swam Ladybug to shore, where she discovered a door hidden in a nearby rock face. Walking through it had led her to one last chamber, this one the most difficult of all. Rather than a minion, Ladybug was forced to make her way through a gauntlet of tests plucked from various fairy tales. First, she had to use four loaves of bread and an iron staff to enter a castle guarded by lions, where she had ten minutes to find a fountain, take a cup of its water, and make her way back through the gate. Next was a perilous climb up a black mountain without stopping or looking back, all while she was assailed by the voices of her classmates and partner begging her to rescue them. The third was the worst, as it required her to go through seven chambers, with her only hint on how to beat it being "Don't trust what you see". It was luck that kept her from reflexively attacking the swordsman who charged her in the first chamber, who vanished into dust as soon as his sword touched her still form. From there it was a test of her fortitude to resist the urge to flee or strike back as she made her way through five more chambers, each one containing a more elaborate and intelligent minion and a more painful deathblow. In the seventh, however, she encountered what seemed to be an unharmed Cat Noir. He said that Frau Märchen had trapped him here and sent out Puss in Boots as a duplicate, and that he was ready to help her beat the wicked sorceress. Ladybug was thrilled, but in a moment she recalled the hint. Despite how much she wanted the help, to believe that her partner was alright, she instead struck him with her yo-yo. The illusion, for illusion it was, collapsed into dust, and Ladybug finally made back to the antechamber, where she had collapsed against the wall in exhaustion.

"Ugh...Hourglass," she muttered, causing the timepiece to appear before her once more. The sand was now mostly in the bottom half, leaving a relatively small portion left up top.

 _I'm no expert,_ she thought, _but it looks like I only have about an hour and a half, if that, to finish up here. There's only one door left, which should mean that I've cornered Frau Märchen, but I probably have three or four more minions to beat before I can get to her. If I can't beat all of them and make it to her before time runs out…_

Ladybug shuddered as she thought about the penalty for losing. Shaking herself, she stood up.

"I've got to keep moving!" she said out loud, looking around the room. Dismissing the hourglass with another statement of "Hourglass!", Ladybug walked up to the last remaining door.

 _This is it,_ Ladybug thought as she grabbed the handle. _I'm almost here. I just need to be quick and be careful. An hour and a half to make my way through the rest of the minions, and then, Frau Märchen, you'll pay for what you've done._

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Ladybug opened the door and, cautiously, walked through.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Back in Frau Märchen's throne room, the tapestries surrounding her were filled with rich images and designs, all of foes Ladybug had defeated. In fact, there was only a single blank tapestry left, one directly behind Frau Märchen's throne.

"As much as I would have enjoyed wasting your time with my last minions, Ladybug," Frau Märchen mused to herself, "you've honestly been more expedient then I gave you credit for. You've actually managed to defeat all of my warriors but one."

Leaning back into her throne, Frau Märchen gave a sadistic smirk. "However, that one you've left is my strongest yet. If you manage to make it to me, then I am prepared to fight and win. But against my last minion, I'm afraid that you have no chance. After all, by the time you recognize the danger…"

Frau Märchen's grin turned positively deranged. "...it's already too late."

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

 **PA2: Hey all! I know we usually stick to just one skit a chapter, but we felt like an ending skit would be fun for once!**

 _MP: It probably won't be just once. I imagine we'll have things to say at the end of the fic._

 **PA2: Yeah, but for twice doesn't sound as catchy.**

 _MP: Not if you say it with that deadpan expression. But that's not the point. Anyway, we're approaching what is undoubtedly our favorite part of the fic. I won't give any more details, but we busted our asses over this._

 **PA2: And it was well worth it. Hence why you won't be hearing from us for the next few chapters. They're best absorbed without our commentary.**

 _MP: At least at first._

 **PA2: Didn't mean to imply otherwise.**

 _MP: So, while you wait, how about a poll to motivate you to review? Which of Frau Märchen's minions was your favorite so far? We'll wait for you to tell us (hopefully with your opinion on the chapter as well). Or just be impolite and keep silent when spoken to._

 **PA2: Now that you mention it, we are going to be waiting here for a while...without anything to do…**

 _MP:..._

 **PA2:...**

 _MP:..._

 **PA2: I got it! And it's pretty fitting! Settle down, MP. It's storytime!**


	10. As She Fought With All Her Strength

**Chapter 10: As She Fought With All Her Strength**

 _The Tale of Bahram al-Mahraj and the Red-Clad Traveler_

A savage wind blew throughout the Persian desert as a mysterious stranger rode into Tehran. Just as she reached the city's edge, her camel collapsed, dead from exhaustion. The traveler, clad in a scarlet _abaya_ and matching _niqab_ that covered all but her eyes and hands, shed a single tear for the loss of her steadfast companion, before turning to the city.

Picking up her sack of what little supplies she had left, she seized an earthenware vessel and drank the last drops of water from within. It was hardly enough, but it would have to do until she had more. With a sigh, she rubbed the ring on her right hand, set with a large chunk of turquoise, and whispered a prayer to all-knowing Allah so that she may know his will. Then, bending down, she scooped up a handful of sand and tossed it into the air. The wind carried the sand through the city, and she chased after it. The sand carried past the _caravanserai_ , where she so desperately needed rest, and the bazaar, where she could replenish her supplies, and finally came to rest outside of an old, broken-down _bimaristan_ , a Persian hospital. It seemed long since abandoned - the traveler was sure she'd seen a larger, newer _bimaristan_ on the way in. Still, this was where she must be.

The scarlet-clad nomad crept into the old building. All were welcome within the _bimaristan_ , but the place had ceased to be welcoming long ago. Cobwebs were in nearly every corner, and scorpions skittered across the floors.

Moving with speed and silence, the traveler zipped through the halls, carefully listening for anything out of the ordinary. Finally, as she approached a private room, one from whence the pungent scent of myrrh wafted, she heard hushed voices.

"Why can't we just kill him and be done with it?" said one voice, thick and impatient.

"Because the ritual must be completed while he still lives!" snapped another, this one higher and nasally.

Wasting no time, the red nomad burst into the room, where three men in black masks, one tall and thin, one short and fat, and one old and bent, were standing around a bed. A pale young man in dark robes was tied to it, unconscious.

"What is this?" demanded the short, fat man, raising a dagger. "Who are you?"

The woman in red did not reply in words, but instead drew from a sheath on her back a _jian_ , a double-edged straight sword from the Far East, all while kicking the dagger out of the man's grip. She gave a warning slash, and the men backed into the wall.

For the first time, the traveler spoke. Her voice was light and musical, but deadly serious. "What is this I see?" she demanded. "Speak the truth, for I shall know if you are lying!"

"The boy has contracted a terrible illness!" hissed the old man. The source of the scent of myrrh was a censer on a chain in his hands. "We are the best doctors in all the land, and must perform this ritual to cure him!"

The red nomad narrowed her eyes, and swung her sword again. The man's head fell to the floor, and his body soon followed.

"Now who would like to explain?" the traveler asked.

The tall, thin man stepped forward. "He is possessed by an evil spirit!" the man squawked. "This ritual will free him!"

The traveler shook her head, and the thin man's head rolled.

"Last chance," the traveler warned, staring at the short, fat man. "Speak the truth, and I will spare your life."

The man sputtered and fidgeted, but finally relented. "The boy wields a magic of great power," he cried. "We were trying to take it for ourselves."

The nomad lowered her sword slightly. The man was telling the truth. "What sort of power?" she asked.

"It is the power of the _djinn_ , the ability to manipulate the world at will!" continued the man, all composure abandoned in the face of death. "We witnessed him conjure gems from common earth, gold from sand, and begin to build a palace for himself in a swirl of flame and wind!"

"If he is so powerful, how did he come to be lying here unconscious?" the nomad asked.

"We were common brigands, lucky to stumble across him as he dedicated himself to his creation and striking him from behind. Our leader was a magician of little power, but no small knowledge. He knew of a ritual that would give his power to us, and allow us to become as the thief lords of old. That is the truth, and may Allah visit misery upon me should I lie!"

"I am sure he has reason to do so regardless," the nomad said calmly, before striking his head from his shoulders. His truth had earned him his life; his actions had earned his death.

Walking over to where the boy lay, she took in his features. Blonde hair like spun gold was peeking out from his _bedouin_ head covering, and his attire was as all-covering as any sensible desert wanderer's. Whatever vast wealth he had conjured to attract the attention of the thieves, there was little evidence of it on his person. His face was handsome enough, but he was grimacing in his sleep. He looked to be in the throes of a bad dream, twisting on the bed as much as the ropes would allow.

The nomad released him with a few quick slices to the ropes binding him and, for good measure, crushed the magician's censer under her foot. The intense scent of myrrh that emerged dazed her for a moment, but a touch to the ring on her finger brought her back to her senses.

As the boy's features relaxed slightly, the spell on him broken with the censer, the nomad delicately nudged him, careful not to touch the marks where the ropes had burned his wrists and ankles.

Slowly, the boy's eyes opened, revealing them to be an intense and startling green, akin to the shade of a cat's eyes. Blinking, he tried to push himself up into a sitting position, only to fail and collapse back onto the bed.

"Do not trouble yourself," the nomad said, kneeling down at his side. "You must still be weak from what you have gone through."

"...Where am I?" the boy asked, his voice husky and rich. "This is not my home, nor is it the desert."

"We are in Tehran," the nomad replied. "You were taken here by a magician and two thieves, trying to rob you of the power you possess."

"...I see," the boy said coolly, his eyes narrowing. "And where are these three?"

"Their souls are facing the judgement of Allah, while their bodies remain here, relieved of the burden of their heads," the nomad stated plainly.

"So I see," the boy said, glancing at the bodies lying around the room. "Well then, stranger, you have the thanks of Bahram al-Mahraj of Baghdad, and all that that entails."

"Baghdad?" the nomad repeated. "That is quite a ways away, and I doubt those three could have dragged you all the way here from there without being caught. What brings you so far from home?"

"Ah, that is a long story," said Bahram, "and one which causes me pain to tell. Still, for my savior, I shall tell it."

 _The Tale of Bahram al-Mahraj and the Djinni Rahim_

"I was born in Baghdad fourteen years ago, the only child of the famed silk merchant, Dariush al-Mahraj. His product was the finest to be acquired in all of the country, and the sale of it provided for a mansion second in comfort only to the palace itself. I lived in the lap of luxury, with servants to wait upon me hand and foot, an education to match that the finest scholars, and a father whose devotion to me was unmatched. I possessed intelligence to use my lessons to their fullest, looks that would have made me the charm of the city, and a shrewd mind that made my father happy to teach me the ways of his business; I was blessed by Allah in all ways but one...freedom. My father doted on me so that he refused to let me leave my home, surrounding me with guards at all times to protect me. My mother could not convince him otherwise, for she had died bringing me into the world. Indeed, it would not surprise me if his protectiveness stemmed in part from my being the last remnant of her.

"And while my needs were always met, my father always kind, and my servants always loyal, I longed to see the world beyond my mansion, beyond Baghdad. And so for years I begged my father to allow me to see the world, to experience life as all others did. My pleas were met with deaf ears many a time, until at last the day came when my father decided I needed to experience his trade.

"He told me that he had received a vast order of his finest and most expensive silk from a truly prestigious client, a caliph from a far-off province known for his largesse and love of finery. He had been sending his servants across the land looking for new treasures, and they were assembling in Baghdad in a grand caravan. My father was one of the last that was approached, but the order was one of the most expensive. Moreover, the caliph had invited him to accompany the caravan that would transport the order, so as to negotiate a more permanent arrangement between the two. My father agreed, as was only proper, and decided that such a learning opportunity could not be ignored. He said to me, 'You have long desired an opportunity to see the world beyond our home, and I have long been against this. However, you will inherit my enterprises when I have gone to Allah's grace, and it is time that you learn how one interacts with a client, particularly one as prestigious as this. Should you desire, you will accompany me on this journey, and witness my work at its riskiest.' As you can imagine, my agreement was instant.

"We set out for the province shortly thereafter, part of a caravan bearing such riches as I had never heard of. We were surrounded by the wealthiest and most well-off merchants and traders in the land, and were surrounded by a veritable army of guards and servants. There were those of the caliph, those of the fellow merchants whose products were being brought, and the greatest and most well-trained of our own hire. For five days, we traveled across the desert, moving at a good pace and without incident. But on the sixth day, disaster struck.

"Out of the desert came an army of bandits unlike any that I had ever heard of. Their attire was strange and vibrant, decorated with bright colors and with mystic symbols, covered with jewels and gold. They wielded strange weapons, ranging from swords and spears of magical metal to weapons that I could not even give a name. They used powers unlike any I had ever seen, casting fire and ice and all sorts of enchantments. And each one wore an elegant mask, as beautiful and personal as every other aspect of their appearance. They tore through the army of guards with the speed and ferocity of a group of _djinn_ , and indeed I believed they _were_ _djinn_ , so strange they were. Luck was not with us on that day, as the bandits overwhelmed our guard, slaughtered our servants, and stole the entire caravan. They stripped us of all our finery, taking even the clothes from our backs, and left us to die in the unforgiving desert, leaving us nothing but meager provisions and the clothes of the _bedouin_ , a final insult to mark their success. My father tried to convince the others to stay together, that we could find success in a group but would die apart, but he was ignored. Within a short time, each merchant had gone his own way, and my father and I were alone.

"We wandered for days, praying a passing traveler would find us, but to no avail. What little supplies we had ran out, and even then, my dear father gave me the last of his water. He bade me to move on, so as not to see him die. On his orders, I did not look back. Even so, it seemed to be my end, but as luck would have it, the very next day, I discovered the ruins of an old temple in the middle of the desert. How it came to be is a mystery I do not know the answer to, for there were no people for a great many miles. It seemed a fitting place for my tomb, so I entered, and felt my first relief from the sun in days. But as I rested my head on a column, I caught a glimpse of a large bronze jar on an altar, enshrined like a pagan idol of old.

"Curious, I stumbled over to it, and took note of its massive size, as big as a man, as well as its sigil-inscribed lid, sealed with wax and with an embossed crown in the center. Barely daring to hope, I scratched at the wax with my fingers, having been left no weapons with which I might otherwise remove it. Despite my exhaustion, I was able to unseal the lid, and with a single push, I shoved the lid onto the ground.

"Instantly, a tremendous plume of black smoke shot up from the jar, twirling and growing until it took the form of a _djinni_ , with a mouth like the mouth of a cave, two eyes like burning hearths, and a voice as deep as the heart of a mountain. He said, 'Ah, there is no God but the God, Allah, and Muhammad his Prophet! Praise be to Solomon, may he reign for a thousand years!'"

"I prostrated myself before the _djinni_ and said, 'O Noble _Djinni_ , Solomon has been dead for a great many years, and his name has faded into myth! Who are you, that I may know whom I have freed?'

"'God truly is great!' the _djinni_ boomed. 'I am Rahim, or rather that is what I decided I would call myself should I ever be freed from that prison. I was sealed here by Solomon for speaking up in defense of my brother, who had wreaked havoc throughout the land and killed many loyal citizens. Solomon was wroth with me for daring to defend such a heinous being as my brother, and chose to punish me alongside him, but because my misdeed came from familial love, he allowed me the comforts of my abilities within my jar, and promised me that I would eventually be freed by a deserving youth in dire straits. And here you are! You are lucky, young man, for I have lain here for merely three hundred years, and in a comfortable prison at that. But in another hundred years, even I would have turned against the world of man, and slain anyone who dared to free me after so long had passed! But my truest nature is still intact, praise be to Allah, and so I shall reward you handsomely! Speak to me any three demands, one for each century of my imprisonment, and be they in my power, I shall grant them to you.'

"'O merciful Rahim,' I said, 'for my first demand, I beg you, restore my father and I to full health, and bring him to me! For it is a son's duty to help his father, and mine was in true peril when last I saw him!'

"Rahim frowned. 'The first part of your demand is easily accomplished, but as for the second, alas, it cannot be. For as I was about to enact your will, I saw that your father has already passed, and to revive the dead is beyond the province of any of the _djinn_. However, in recognition of your loyalty and your kindness, I shall see that your father is honorably buried, so that his spirit may find peace with Allah and with your mother. Moreover, I shall count that as part of your first, to make up for what I was unable to give you. Speak again!'

"'O kind Rahim,' I said, as healthy as I was before leaving my home but utterly heartbroken, 'if you know so much, then you surely know what has befallen us. Tell me the name of the group of bandits that brought him to his death, and how I may destroy them and avenge my father!'

"'They are known as the Ezhdeha, and they have been the scourge of these deserts for years. They were founded by a sorcerer and maker of artifacts, exiled from his home and driven to a life of thievery. Through means unknown to me, he was able to bind a _peri_ to his will, taking her powers for his own and dominating her will. With her help, he has assembled an army of like-minded individuals, from warriors to poisoners, assassins to pickpockets, and blessed them with mystical abilities and weapons. They live under the desert itself, in a palace made from the corpse of the dragon that gave them their name, filled with the riches of the entire world. One of the servants attending the caravan had been replaced by one of their spies, and so they knew when and where to assault the caravan and make off with its wealth. However, to attack them as you are now would be impossible, for not only does their palace move throughout the sand, traveling wherever its masters bid it, but each and every inhabitant is skilled in the arts of combat and magic, and would kill you with the same ease that they would consume a date.

"'Then, o wise Rahim, my final demand is for you to grant me the power to destroy the Ezhdeha and avenge my father! For I swear upon my father's bones that I shall not return home nor take up his wealth until the last of those thieves is removed from the face of the earth!'

"'A noble demand, child!' boomed Rahim. 'And so it shall be! But you need not live in discomfort until that time, for I grant you the powers of a _djinni_ , that of creation! With but a nod of your head, you may command the very earth around you, transforming it into whatever you wish. From the finest of food to the most precious of gems, from warriors to do your bidding to a palace of luxury beyond that of any this world has seen, it shall all be possible to you! But take care to rest yourself when you use it. Us _djinn_ are composed of smoke and fire, and have an inexhaustible supply of power to draw upon. You, however, are a man of clay, and while I can increase your essence enough that you may use our powers well, I will not make you into a _djinni_ , for that is not your desire. If you do too much within a short time, you will perish.'

"'You are indeed wise, o Rahim, to know my desires so well!' I shouted, standing up as I felt the newfound power enter my limbs. 'Now, your obligations to me are finished. I send you off, and may Allah look down upon you fondly!'

"'And to you as well!' Rahim shouted, beginning to turn in a circle as his body faded into mist. 'But before I go, I have one final piece of advice, entrusted to me by Solomon to give the man who freed me. Seek out the lucky traveler, and you shall have justice!' he continued, before transmuting into a column of smoke and blasting off the temple's roof, flying out of sight.

"With the _djinni_ gone, I took several minutes to weep for the death of my father, whose love for me was as great as any man can desire. But after I had exhausted my tears, I left the temple, and began to plot my revenge against the Ezhdeha. After experimenting with my powers, turning rocks into gems and grains of sand into pieces of gold, I resolved to build myself a palace in the desert, and make a name for myself as a wealthy and magically powerful prince of the _djinn_. Knowing the Ezhdeha, they would either come to recruit me or to rob me, and either way I would have them in my clutches. And with any luck, the lucky traveler would stumble upon my palace before they arrived, and I would receive the aid that the _djinni_ promised. However, as I began to build my palace, I felt a blow strike me on the back of the head, and I knew no more until I saw your face above mine."

His story concluded, Bahram leaned back against the bed, his eyes glowing with unshed tears as the death of his father echoed through his memory. The nomad, who had remained silent throughout the whole tale, rested a comforting hand on his shoulder, her eyes sympathetic.

"Do not fear, Bahram," she said, her voice soft but resolute. "You shall avenge your father. There can be no doubt on that front."

"Believe me, I intend to do nothing less," said Bahram, his gaze hard. "But first, I must find the lucky traveler. It is clear that my interruption was a sign that I was being over-hasty. Before I begin my preparations, I must seek out this traveler."

"Seek no further, Bahram al-Mahraj," said the nomad as she drew herself to her full height. "You have found her."

"You?" asked Bahram, his eyes wide.

The nomad nodded, and then reached up to her _niqab_ and began to remove it. Bahram gasped at the breach of etiquette, but made no move to stop her as she revealed her face to him. She was a creature of divine beauty, a girl no older than himself with the porcelain skin of those from the Far East. A strand of hair peeked out from under her head-covering, the same blue-black color of the indigo plant, and her eyes sparkled in the dim light of the room. Aside from the ring, her only adornment was a pair of small ruby earrings of basic design, partially hidden by her _hijab._

"My name is Parisa al-Mahzuz," said the nomad, "and my origins are of little consequence. I have long ago abandoned whatever life I led before for the life of a wanderer, driven on by a greater purpose. This ring," she continued, gesturing to the turquoise jewelry, "was a gift from one of Allah's angels, hidden in a secret cave that I had ventured into some time ago. As long as I wear it, I am protected from unholy magics, and am blessed with incredible luck. Since I acquired this ring and began my wandering, I have never known hunger or thirst for longer than it took to stumble into some great treasure or hidden oasis, nor have I ever known the touch of a blade. I am even able to determine where I am most needed by allowing the wind to guide me, as it did when I discovered you. With your _djinni_ -granted powers of creation and my own mystical ring, the Ezhdeha are as good as defeated."

"Indeed they are, most noble Parisa!" Bahram said, smiling as he leapt off the bed to join her on the ground. "With you at my side, those thieves do not stand a chance!"

"Then let us be off, Adri-" Parisa began, only to stop short, her eyes widening. For an instant, the walls of the room seemed to fade, revealing a lush sitting chamber that would not be out of place in the palace of a king. However, this vision only lasted a moment, before the room returned to normal.

"Parisa?" Bahram asked, concerned.

"It is nothing, Bahram," Parisa said, shaking her head. "I believe that myrrh the sorcerer was using to keep you asleep affected me for a moment. Now, did the men who took you have camels?"

"I believe so," replied Bahram.

"Good. We shall take them. Come, let us be off."

 _The Tale of Parisa al-Mahzuz, Bahram al-Mahraj, and the Building of the Palace_

After restocking their supplies at the bazaar, the two young travelers journeyed into the desert, with no idea of their destination. At Parisa's advice, they followed the wind, which carried them only further into the barren wasteland. Eventually, they reached what was nothing less than a full-grown forest in the middle of the desert. The trees were thick and green, bearing a variety of different fruits. Pools of fresh water covered the landscape, glistening in the sunlight. Through the foliage, a variety of animals could be seen, peering at the travelers as they wandered up to the edge of the magnificent spectacle of nature.

"I have often retreated to this oasis in times of trouble," Parisa explained to an open-mouthed Bahram. "It has fresh water aplenty, as well as a diversity of fruit and even some game animals. My only guess is that this was once a treasured hunting ground for a _djinni_ prince, for no matter how often I help myself to its treasures, there are always more once I returned, but never any signs of an owner."

"You speak truthfully, Parisa," Bahram replied, his voice filled with shock. "I can feel my powers resonating with this location. Indeed, this place was created by a _djinni_ of incredible power, enchanted to remain pristine and ever-lush no matter what happened to it. It was created to be a refuge for those in need, likely as penance for some sort of crime. Beyond that, I cannot say."

"You have said more than enough, Bahram," Parisa said, smiling. "You certainly have the makings of a great sorcerer, to glean so much from a mystical resonance."

Bahram blushed slightly. "Part of my teachings included sorcerous knowledge," he said sheepishly. "My father did not want me to learn the practice of magic, but he thought the theory would be quite helpful."

"As well it was," Parisa replied. "Now, would you be so kind as to build a palace here? I believe that this will make a perfect location for baiting the Ezhdeha into our trap."

"Is such a thing even necessary?" Bahram asked, puzzled. "You said yourself how great your luck is, and your discovery of this location has only proven it. Should we not simply assault those vermin directly? If we wander about the desert in search of them, your gifts will ensure that we shall find them."

"Luck will only take us so far, Bahram," Parisa told him. "I have made the mistake of relying on chance alone too many times to count. When I said that I had never been wounded since receiving this gift, it was for luck in _finding_ battles, not fighting them. I have fought against lone brigades when low on energy, against small groups when at full health, and once survived a bar brawl by dint of being the only sober one there. I am sure you can see the pattern; my power has always ensured that I fought those I could defeat, rather than enabling me to survive unharmed against foes above my strength. It is entirely possible that searching out the Ezhdeha would lead us to them, and that we might even escape such a conflict with our lives. But I am confident that we would lose much in the attempt, assuming that their sorcerers could not negate my powers entirely. So no, we will go with your original plan."

"But then what stops them from mounting a full assault on the palace regardless?" Bahram continued. "I was brash enough to revel in that possibility before, but your words have cooled my temper enough to see the flaws."

"That," said Parisa, grinning," is where my power will help us. You said yourself, the Ezhdeha infiltrated the caravan first before attacking it. They are clever, cautious, and like to scout out their prospective targets. Once they hear of the palace, they will send someone to learn about it, and about the weaknesses of its master. And that is when we shall strike."

"Indeed we shall," said Bahram, grinning. "Now," he continued, raising his hands, "it is my turn to showcase my skill."

Before Parisa's interested eyes, Bahram's hands began to glow, as did the sand surrounding the oasis. With a sharp gesture, the sand rose into the air and flew into the center of the oasis, gathering in a funnel cloud which grew in size and intensity as Bahram continued to gesture. Parisa tried to peer through the dense sand, but was unable to make out anything but a blurry, shadowy shape which grew larger and larger as the cloud grew more and more intense. Feeling grass underneath her feet, Parisa looked down and gasped at what she saw. The forest-oasis was actually expanding as Bahram worked, spreading out to occupy new territory as Bahram's magic made a home in the center.

After a few minutes, Bahram lowered his hands, his face beaded with sweat. Once he did so, the cloud of sand dissolved, revealing the magnificent multicolored towers of a sumptuous palace, the majority hidden within the dense foliage.

"Are you alright?" Parisa asked, resting a hand on Bahram's shoulder.

"Yes," he replied, panting slightly. "I just had never used my powers in such a manner. The first time I tried creating a palace, I barely got started before those ruffians interrupted me. Here, though, I was able to complete it, and it was exhausting even with the oasis helping me."

"Then you also were the one who expanded it?" Parisa asked, gesturing to the grass under their feet and the shoots of trees that were already beginning to grow.

"In a way. The oasis responded to my desire to build a palace and transfigured itself in order to accommodate it. As a price for that, it took some of my power for itself in order to grow. Not enough to take over the desert, but enough that by tomorrow, it should be double the size."

"Then I am glad that we had no intention of hiding our location," Parisa said wryly. "Indeed, the Ezhdeha should be sending a spy within the next few days."

"We can only hope," Bahram said quietly. "Now then, shall we see the result of my efforts? I had a basic desire in mind, but the magic took it upon itself to truly design it."

"We shall indeed," said Parisa as she started walking past the newly growing trees and into the oasis proper. "I only hope it's comfortable. It's been far too long since I've slept on a bed."

Chuckling, Bahram joined her as they moved through the oasis, pushing aside branches and trodding around pools, taking note of the animals watching them from just out of sight. Eventually, though, they reached the center of the oasis, and beheld a sight that took their breath away.

The towers they had seen from the outskirts, numerous enough to be a forest in and of themselves and covered with elegantly carved windows, sprouted from a large central dome-like building. The entire edifice was constructed out of multicolored stone, sparkling with massive gemstones and enriched with gold and silver designs. These designs were of elegant calligraphic symbols, extolling the virtues of Allah the Almighty and the world that he had created and glowing with the magic of their construction. It was an utterly gorgeous building, one befitting the nobility of its inhabitants.

Too stunned to say a word, Bahram and Parisa walked up to the structure's only door, a construction of gold covered with ornate carvings that opened as they drew near. As they stepped inside, the door shut silently behind them. But dazzled as they were, the two did not notice, especially as the palace's interior unveiled itself to them.

The door had led them into a central room, richly decorated and adorned with carpets, tapestries, lanterns, and furniture, all at the height of comfort and aesthetic beauty. However, what was truly striking about the room was the vast amount of staircases. It was practically a maze of elegantly carved ivory steps, crisscrossing back and forth and leading to and from the various towers. However, as they walked up to one staircase, Parisa and Bahram were surprised to find that they knew, as if by magic, exactly where it led.

"This is truly great magic," Parisa whispered to Bahram, still overcome by the palace's beauty. "Not only is this place a marvel of luxury, but it is built as a maze to confound all who would approach with ill intent. If I am right, we two are the only ones who can navigate this place unaided."

"Then my power has matched my wish precisely," Bahram replied, grinning. "I wanted both a home to indulge in comfort and a trap for those we hunt, and this palace shall be perfect for both. Now then, it has been a long day, and I have just recovered from a most trying set of circumstances. Shall I direct you to a bedroom, Parisa?"

"No need to trouble yourself," Parisa said as she looked around the room. "I will be fine to sleep on one of...these...couches…"

Suddenly, she began to swoon as the room swam before her eyes. She fell into Bahram's panicked arms as, for a moment, she beheld an entirely different room. Dim lighting, candles, comfortable cushions, decanters of wine, plates of fruit, censers of incense, and an oh-so-familiar voice whispering into her ear…

"Parisa!" Bahram yelled, snapping her out of her delusion. Realizing her position, Parisa pushed herself up, shaking her head.

"I'm fine," she said, sighing. "I must have been more exhausted than I thought. That, or that sorcerer's myrrh was powerful enough to affect me even now. I think I shall take you up on that offer, Bahram."

"Absolutely. Allow me to help you up the stairs," he said, taking Parisa by the hand and leading her away from the room.

 _The Tale of Parisa al-Mahzuz, Bahram al-Mahraj, and Ghyr Maryaa_

Over the following days, Parisa and Bahram settled into their magical palace. They quickly found that not only was every room as sumptuously decorated and adorned as the central room, but with but a thought, the palace would open a door to them leading from any room to any other room, making getting around the palace effortless. Moreover, any need they had would be met by invisible servants, from cleaning and cooking to providing training dummies and rare materials for Bahram to practice with. There were times in the first few days where Parisa would have a repeat of her hallucinatory episodes, but as the influence of the sorcerer's myrrh faded, so too did the visions.

After a week, the first visitor arrived. A humble _bedouin_ , he had been lost in the desert for some days looking for refuge, and had stumbled upon the oasis and palace quite by accident. Bahram and Parisa hosted him well, sending him on his way after a day of carousing with a map leading him to the nearest city, an ample amount of supplies, and an exhortation to tell anyone he knew about the palace and how it was welcome to all who desired a safe haven.

Two days later, they hosted a small caravan, heading to Baghdad for a wedding. The day after that, a spice merchant traveling to Tehran to sell his wares. And so it went for the next month, with every traveler being treated as a king or queen, sent off richer than they had arrived, and told to spread the word about the palace and its inhabitants.

However, on the thirty-second day after the palace's construction, Parisa and Bahram awoke in the middle of the night with a sudden certainty; there was an intruder in the palace. Driven by a mysterious instinct, the two independently began searching the palace, traveling from room to room in search of their unwelcome guest. However, their search seemed to prove fruitless, as neither Parisa nor Bahram were able to find them.

Eventually, the two reconvened in the palace's main room with matching expressions of frustration.

"This is ridiculous," Bahram growled. "The palace is telling us that we have an intruder; why isn't it leading us to them?"

"It's more frustrating for me," Parisa replied as she leaned on the edge of a couch, her _niqab_ wrapped around her face.. "I haven't had this much difficulty in finding something since before...before getting the ring," she continued, her voice hitching slightly as she spoke.

"Is everything alright, Parisa?" Bahram asked, his angered expression melting into one of concern.

"It's nothing," sighed Parisa. "Just memories." She then lowered herself into the couch, sighing as its soft cushions soothed her weary legs. However, as she stretched out upon it, she felt her arms brush up against something that felt like nothing so much as a human body.

Immediately, Parisa leapt off of the couch and drew her _jian_ , pointing it at the couch. "Show yourself, intruder!"

An exasperated sigh sounded from the very air above the couch, accompanied by the sound of rustling cushions. "How embarrassing," came a female voice, soft and chirpy, but somehow weary and exhausted at the same time, making for an odd effect. "To think I would be discovered by such a careless gesture."

"Not a careless gesture; but the magic that we have at our disposal!" Bahram shouted, running up to join Parisa. With a gesture of his hand, a golden scimitar appeared, wickedly sharp and mystically forged. "And if you do not wish to experience it firsthand, you will cast off that invisibility you hide behind!"

"I expect you plan to show it to me either way," the voice said sarcastically. "But I suppose a glimpse is acceptable."

Suddenly, a young woman appeared sitting on the couch, right where the voice was emanating from. She was clad in a strange robe, one made of a clear silk that refracted light, sending rainbows bouncing around the room with each minute gesture. The robe was covered in pearls and diamonds, which were carved into mystical symbols and served to obscure the details of her body despite the transparent material. Around her waist was a silvery belt, with a dagger bearing a matching hilt sheathed at her side. The robe had a hood which came up to cover the back of her head, and upon her face was a plain white mask, so stark and austere in its blankness that it was downright terrifying. Her outfit was so all-encompassing that it was only her voice that revealed her gender to Parisa and Bahram.

Standing up, the woman bowed before the two warriors. "I am Ghyr Maryaa, scout and spy of the Ezhdeha. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Parisa al-Mahzuz, and to re-make yours, Bahram al-Mahraj."

"'Re-make'...then it was you!" Bahram snapped, getting into a stance with his scimitar.

"Of course it was me," Ghyr Maryaa replied sardonically. "Who else would the Ezhdeha trust with procuring such lucrative cargo? With my powers of invisibility, there are none better than I for gathering information, no matter what or where it may be. And incidentally, thank you for the information on your ring, Parisa. My masters will be most pleased to acquire an artifact like that."

"What makes you think you'll be leaving here alive?" Parisa snarled.

"It's simple, really. I have enough information to make a good report and stand no chance of getting more. With the door right here, I have no reason to stay."

Bahram, at these words, rushed to guard the door, leaving Parisa to keep Ghyr Maryaa at blade-point.

"Still think it will be easy to escape?" Parisa asked snidely.

At that, Ghyr Maryaa smirked. "No, it will certainly be less easy to escape...but robbing you fools just became much easier."

Before Parisa could move her blade, Ghyr Maryaa gave a mocking bow and vanished from sight. Parisa immediately lunged forward to try to stab her, only to pass through empty air.

"Spread out!" Parisa ordered. "She can't have gotten far! We need to try keeping her in this room!"

Bahram nodded and concentrated. Every one of the room's exits sealed shut, his will made manifest throughout the room.

Strangely, though, Parisa and Bahram heard not a sound. There were no noises of frustration, no sound of footsteps. There was only all-consuming silence.

"Did she leave before you closed the doors?" Parisa asked, confused and disturbed.

Bahram shook his head. "I feel that I would know if she was in another room in the palace," he replied. "It is certainly possible that she has left the room and is confusing my senses with her magic, but I am almost certain that she is still here."

"I believe you," Parisa said, sighing. "But that leaves us no closer to finding or defeating her. And even if you are wrong, we cannot take the chance. If we leave this room while she still hides here, then she'll flee into the night, taking her information with her."

"Then what do you suggest?!" Bahram snarled in frustration.

"I…" Parisa began, only to pause as she felt her ring grow warmer on her finger. Looking down, she saw it glowing with a soft, even light.

"My ring…" she murmured, her eyes growing wide.

"What is it?" Bahram asked.

"It's speaking to me...telling me more of its powers…" she continued vacantly, mesmerized by the ring's light.

"And what is it saying?!" Bahram asked impatiently, desperate to keep Ghyr Maryaa from fleeing.

"It is telling me to do...this!" Parisa shouted, her eyes clearing as she held the ring out, causing a bright flash of light to cover the room. It was so bright that Parisa and Bahram had to shield their eyes, but when it faded, they gasped. Ghyr Maryaa was standing on the other side of the room, her robes having transformed into a bizarre outfit, one which conformed to her entire body, made of the same translucent material as its original form. The hood was gone, revealing an immodest sight of auburn hair tied into a tight bun, and her mask had taken on the shape of an intricately carved butterfly, revealing teal eyes and pale skin in the exposed spaces.

Ghyr Maryaa glared at the two for a moment before vanishing again, but the ring had done its work. Bahram and Parisa knew that Ghyr Maryaa was trapped.

"You tried to trick us into letting you escape, but we saw through your ruse!" taunted Bahram. "Now it's only a matter of time until we send your head to the Ezhdeha as a message!"

However, minutes passed without them finding her. In addition to her invisibility, Ghyr Maryaa moved with incredible speed and in total silence, as if she were walking on desert sand. Parisa tried using her ring once more, but the flashes of light only revealed the thief for a moment before she vanished from view once more. Desperate, Parisa cast an eye on a nearby table. She seized a bowl of toasted sesame seeds and cast them over the floor. Once more, she swung her _jian_ , and this time heard a crack as some of the seeds were crushed underfoot. Bahram, who was nearby, lunged in the direction of the sound, swinging his scimitar. As it passed through what was seemingly empty space, he felt his blade strike against something solid, and heard a shriek as the sound of shattering ceramic filled the air.

In an instant, Ghyr Maryaa faded into view, a bloody wound on her face and the broken pieces of her mask at her feet.

"Damn you and your luck!" she shouted, leaping away from Bahram's second swing and striking him in the stomach with a potent kick, knocking him to the floor, seemingly unconscious. "Bad enough that you forced me to take on my battle form, but now you humiliate me still further? If it were not for that magic ring, you would never have been able to destroy my powers!" She then had to dive away from Parisa's returning lunge before she could do any more damage to Bahram.

"So your powers come from your mask...I suppose your leader cannot truly give magic to the magicless, especially when he is forcing that _peri_ to obey him," Parisa mused. "It must be placed in an intermediary. I must say, it is advanced work. It even allows you to switch between a regular state and a more combat-oriented one, which I believe is the reason for your sudden speed and stealth. Regardless, if we have truly rendered you powerless, then surrender! If you do, I will make your death swift."

"Do not think me defeated just yet, Parisa al-Mahzuz," Ghyr Maryaa snarled, drawing her dagger from where it lay on her belt. The blade was mirror-like in its shine, clear as glass and twice as bright. "I have no stomach for violence, hence why I have refrained from using my blade upon you. But now that my mask is destroyed, I have no choice. Prepare yourself!"

In a flash, Ghyr Maryaa lunged forward, slashing at Parisa's face. Taken off-guard by the burst of speed, Parisa barely had time to raise her sword to block. However, the dagger suddenly changed course mid-lunge, scoring a gash on her arm.

Gasping in pain, Parisa leapt back. "How?" she asked, clutching at her arm.

"This dagger was hand-crafted for me by our leader," Ghyr Maryaa said smugly. "Just as I could render myself invisible, this dagger projects illusions of itself, creating feints. I was never aiming at your face, but the dagger caused you to see a blow that never existed, leaving you open to attack. And that's not all."

Suddenly, Parisa felt a wave of dizziness come over her. Startled, she stumbled backwards before collapsing onto one knee. Her breath came shallower as the room swam before her eyes.

"The edge is also coated with a powerful poison," Ghyr Maryaa continued. "It causes weakness and hallucinations in its targets, rendering them open for my killing blows. Moreover, it can last for weeks unless properly treated, and I am the only one who knows the antidote." 

Ghyr Maryaa then strode confidently up to Parisa, focusing entirely on her. Leaning over her foe, Ghyr Maryaa grinned. "Looks like I shall be the one claiming victory here, Parisa al-Mahzuz. I will strike off your head, and take it, your ring, and Bahram back as prizes for my masters. They shall be most pleased with the haul from this theft."

"Then just make an end to it already," Parisa snarled, too weak to do anything more.

"Not before I take a look at that mysterious face of yours," Ghyr Maryaa said, reaching over and removing Parisa's _niqab_. When she saw what lay beneath it, however, her eyes widened.

"It is you!" she said, drawing backwards in shock. "The Sultana's final slave girl! I thought you must have perished in the desert!"

"You were there?!" Parisa gasped, a mixture of surprise and fury revealed in her face.

"Of course I was! That court was a prime target for our work, and it was my job to investigate it. But never would I have suspected what I would find there, nor that I would encounter you again, you cursed brat!"

Suddenly, a golden scimitar blade emerged from Ghyr Maryaa's chest, stopping her short. Gasping, Ghyr Maryaa used what strength she had left to turn her head, revealing Bahram's furious eyes.

"H...how?" she asked, coughing up blood from the chest wound.

"You overestimate your strength, thief," Bahram snarled. "I was simply biding my time, waiting for the moment to strike. And now," he said, ripping the blade from her chest, "my vengeance has truly begun."

Without another word, Ghyr Maryaa fell to the ground, her eyes looking upon the world no longer, but instead seeing only the judgement of Allah.

Taking a moment to savor in the sight of his foe's body, Bahram then rushed over to Parisa, who had rested her glowing ring above the wound. "Are you alright?" he asked, kneeling at her side. "Forgive me for letting you get so injured, and for slaying her without taking from her the secret of the antidote."

"Do not apologize," Parisa said, her breathing beginning to return to normal. "If there was any chance that she would have revealed the antidote, then my luck would have kept her alive. As it is, my ring's new powers are purifying the worst of the poison. I doubt it will completely heal me, but it should leave me well enough to fight."

"Good," Bahram said, a relieved smile on his face. After a moment, though, his expression darkened. "Although, Ghyr Maryaa's last words to you…"

Parisa sighed. "They have awoken your curiosity, have they not?" she said, sounding resigned. "I suppose it's just as well. I would have needed to tell you eventually, if only to reinforce our trust. I am willing to tell my story."

"You do not have to," Bahram insisted. "I understand the burden of a painful past. While I am curious, if you want to maintain your secrets, I will not begrudge you."

"No, I must tell," Parisa replied, "if for no other reason than it must be told to someone. But listen well, Bahram, for I only desire to tell it once."

However, I am afraid that I find myself in need of refreshment. You shall have to wait until I return to hear of Parisa's past, and how she and Bahram battled the remainder of the Ezhdeha.


	11. And Conquered Trial After Trial

**PA2: Welcome back everyone! And I'm really happy with the reactions we've gotten for the last chapter. Good mix of responses.**

 _MP: Absolutely. I knew we'd get at least one review wondering if we posted the wrong chapter by mistake._

 **PA2: Yep, that was fun. And we've got people making predictions about what's going on, which is always fun.**

 _MP: Unless you bet against them. Your check's in the mail, PA2._

 **PA2: Thank you, sir!** _ **Now**_ **will you have more faith in our readers?**

 _MP: Sure, why not? Anyway, I mainly came here to brag. We're just so proud of writing our very own original Arabian Night. One reviewer asked if it was based on anything, and, aside from Ladybug, no, not really._

 **PA2: Yep, exactly. We weren't thinking of any particular story when writing this, we just thought, "We need Ladybug as an Arabian Night," and this is what we came up with.**

 _MP: We took elements of the Arabian Nights, overall story themes and such, but came up with an original plot._

 **PA2: Don't forget about the names.**

 _MP: How could I? Every name was chosen with care, because it means something. "Parisa al-Mahzuz", for example, translates roughly to "the fairy-like lucky one", with the added pun of containing "Paris"._

 **PA2: We'll provide a full translation guide at the end of the next chapter, but for now, let's continue our road into the mystery and wonder of the Arabian Nights!**

 _MP: And consider reading some_ real _Arabian Nights, too. You wouldn't be reading this chapter without them! Anyway, enjoy the chapter, and remember to fave, follow, and review!_

 **Chapter 11: And Conquered Trial After Trial**

 _The Tale of Parisa al-Mahzuz, Princess Nousha, and Sultana Zareen_

"My story begins in a kingdom far to the east, where my parents served as bakers in the kitchen of the gorgeous Sultana Zareen."

"I have heard of Sultana Zareen!" Bahram al-Mahraj interrupted. "My father was known to send many silks to her kingdom. I have heard that her beauty was unsurpassed by any mortal woman."

"That is true enough," Parisa replied. "Beauty radiated like sunlight from every one of her pores, as it did for each and every one of her predecessors from the dawn of her dynasty. Her skin was bronze as a bell, and just as smooth, and she had the fragrance of freshly-plucked peaches. Her dark, flowing hair was a shade of brown that put the crust of my father's best fresh-baked bread to shame, and her lips were as full and as pink as could be. What was more, her looks never faded, her face unmarred by the signs of age, her body healthy and strong. It was as if she had been sculpted rather than born, and every day suitors would travel from the farthest kingdoms to proclaim their love and beg her hand in marriage. And every day, she would reject them.

"You see, Sultana Zareen was as much feared as she was admired. Despite her beauty, she had a wicked temper, and little tolerance for mistakes. If her servants were ever late, or performed poorly, she would have them executed and fed to her pet panther, which was always by her side. Only three were ever safe from her wrath. The first was her beloved pet, on which she doted. The second was her daughter, the beautiful Princess Nousha, who thank Allah did not share her mother's temperament, but was instead kind and adventurous, as vibrant a girl as one could imagine. And the third was always a young handmaiden. It was a tradition for the past five hundred years that the Sultana would have a personal handmaiden, chosen to attend to their every whim in exchange for a rich and carefree life upon the end of their ten-year service. She selected a new favorite every decade, and would always ignore their mistakes and lavish rewards upon them.

"The one that I knew was called Shahnaz, a nasty, spoiled girl despite her servitude. She had the freedom to do as she wished, which was usually to harass others with her sharp tongue, yet somehow in the sultana's eyes she was a vision of perfection. I can picture her even now, her flaxen hair braided with gold thread, her face caked with makeup, yellow robes draped over her skinny frame…but then, when I was only four, she was given a palace of her own far away, and the sultana chose a new favorite - me.

"Life was good for the next few years, as I alone among the servants was safe from the sultana's rage, but the whole time I grew more and more suspicious. Why would such a cruel and self-centered woman pamper a servant so? And why a new one every ten years? Still, I performed my duties to the sultana to the best of my abilities, until I grew closer and closer to the ten-year mark.

"But then, just a day from said mark, I made a terrible discovery. For months beforehand, the Sultana had been exhibiting signs of illness, and the prognosis appeared grim. I was distraught for my mistress, but at the same time felt relieved knowing that the kingdom would be secure in the capable hands of the princess, who was the sole heir due the deaths of her older brothers in infancy.

"But late that night, as I was tossing and turning in bed thinking about the coming day, I was interrupted by my closest friend in the palace, Princess Nousha herself. She was nearly as lovely as her mother, dressed in red silks and golden bracelets, with the same bronze skin and smooth features, but her hair was auburn and wavy, and her eyes kind and golden. Like her mother, she smelled of fresh peaches, but Nousha's skin had a single flaw - a small mole just above her right eyebrow. Somehow, though, the imperfection made her even lovelier, as if it confirmed her humanity."

Parisa paused in her story as another image flashed through her mind. Princess Nousha lounging on a mass of cushions, stabbing olives with her fingers and popping them into her mouth. But Parisa had never seen this - in fact, Nousha loathed olives with a passion.

"Are you alright?" Bahram asked, concerned.

"Yes," Parisa sighed, shaking her head. "Just that poison working its way through. As I was saying, during my tenure as the Sultana's handmaiden, I had struck up a close friendship with the princess, and that friendship was returned despite the difference in our statuses. I was the closest servant in the palace to her own age, and my status as personal handmaiden meant that neither of us would be reprimanded for our friendship. One day, I had confided in her my thoughts, and that sparked a fire in her heart. She was always the type to seek the answer to any mystery, no matter where it would lead. Indeed, the only mystery she could never solve was the identity of her father, as the Sultana had been known to take several lovers over her lifetime, but never kept any records of their existence. She was always searching for his identity, though, and she treated this mystery with the same zeal. She examined her mother's behavior, looked through the kingdom's history, and even investigated the fate of Shahnaz. Despite sending men in every direction, she couldn't find any sign of the girl. It was as if she had vanished entirely from existence. Nousha had been telling me of her frustration for days now, but refused to give up the search. Now, it seemed, she finally had an answer.

"'Come with me!' she urged, pulling me out the door of my chamber and through the palace corridors. 'I have discovered something terrible!'

"Indeed she had, as she led me into her mother's throne room. The Sultana, thankfully, was resting in her private chambers, or so I thought. Such snooping, even from her favorite servant and her own daughter, would be sure to bring out Sultana Zareen's fury. Taking me to a statue of her mother on one side of the room, she reached out and pulled the statue's outstretched arm. A door swung open behind it, leading to a staircase deep underground.

"'I discovered this yesterday,' Nousha told me as she led me down. 'It leads to some sort of alchemy chamber. I couldn't figure out what most of the apparatuses were for, but I did find the instructions for some sort of ritual. It's a gruesome thing, and it appears that my mother has terrible plans, but I hadn't enough time to decipher them.'

"'Then it is a good thing I am here,' came a familiar voice, 'to decipher them for you.' Suddenly, the already dimly lit staircase went dark, and I heard a sound like a clap of thunder as I lost consciousness.

"When I awoke, I found myself and Nousha strapped to rune-carved stone tables in the center of a vast underground chamber, filled with strange alchemical devices. There was electricity crackling in the air, strange potions and poisons bubbling away in decanters, and a variety of ritualistic apparatuses mounted all along the walls, surrounding an array of carved openings leading to other rooms. The staircase was nowhere to be seen. Standing in front of us, a wicked smirk on her face, was Sultana Zareen herself, her vicious black panther prowling at her feet.

"As the princess and I began to struggle, Sultana Zareen chuckled. 'What a shame,' she said. 'If only you two hadn't been so inquisitive. You might have kept your lives for a few hours more. But alas, it was not to be. Still, it is just as well. I was just about to fetch you two anyway. But I am lucky that you had stumbled into my lair. If you had been anywhere else, you might have had a chance to escape.'

"'Mother, what are you talking about?' Nousha asked, anger and sadness intermingled in her features. 'What is all this?'

"'This,' said the Sultana, her voice triumphant, 'is the secret to my youth and beauty. The blood and bile of five slave girls every fifty years, and my life and appearance are preserved. And the body of a child of my blood distilled into a potion, and I can take their form as my own. With these two formulas, I can rule the kingdom forever, and no one shall be the wiser.'

"'What?' Nousha asked, her vital fire extinguished by the sheer horror of the revelation. 'Then...the tradition of the handmaidens…'

"'A perfect way to procure my sacrifices, and to excuse their disappearances,' the Sultana finished. 'By choosing a servant girl, I can ensure constant access, protection, and preparation of the most beautiful girls in the kingdom. By claiming they were sent to palaces far away to live in luxury, I ensure that no one, not even their families, will question why they never return. Even better, they're rarely missed, as they usually become entitled brats, despised by everyone around them. I suspect I shall have a harder time explaining your disappearance, Parisa, due to your kind nature, but it will be done. Soon, not even your parents will worry about your whereabouts, if I don't simply kill them.'

"At this, I burst into tears, overcome by the sheer evil of my mistress. But Nousha, despite her misery, could not be deterred. 'Then I was only born as a...replacement? Someone for you to become when you had lived too long?'

"'Exactly,' the Sultana said malevolently. 'And be glad you lived this long. I had to kill your older brothers right after they were born. After all, I can hardly replace myself with a male heir, can I?'

"'But then...who was my father? Why have I never seen or heard of him?' Nousha cried, still desperately searching for answers. Even I could tell it was the only way she could keep from breaking down as I had from the horrors her mother revealed with every word.

"'Oh, but you have. In fact, he is standing right here," Zareen said, gesturing to the panther at her feet. It growled in acknowledgement, and Nousha's eyes widened.

"'Your panther…?' she asked, stunned.

"'My most loyal partner for these past five hundred years,' the Sultana said. 'At first he was opposed to my plan to preserve my life, but a potion of transformation and a spell of obedience took care of that. Now he is bound to my life, blessed to live as long as I do, and has no will of his own. I only return him to his human form when I need to sire a child. All I have to do is bring in a handsome male slave a few months before the birth, and no one will ever question the truth.'

"'But why tell us all this?' cried Nousha. 'Why not just kill us and be done with it?'

"'Because of how precise this ritual is,' the Sultana stated. 'Now that it has begun, every step must be carried out precisely, otherwise it will fail, and I will perish. I needed to fill the time between steps somehow, and I find it comforting to explain myself to those who will soon be dead. Now, if that is everything you needed to know, then simply wait patiently until I am ready to kill you.'

"The Sultana then walked away through one of the openings, her panther-husband following her. The two of us were left completely alone.

"As soon as the Sultana had gone, Nousha immediately started straining at her bonds, testing them for weaknesses. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that the only motion she was able to do was a slight flick of the wrist, but the action seemed to calm her, her tears drying and her confidence being restored. I, on the other hand, was only growing more despondent.

"'Oh Nousha, forgive me,' I wept quietly. 'It is because of me that you ended up like this.'

"'The woman calling herself my mother would have killed me regardless, so do not blame yourself,' Nousha snarled, equally quiet but with vibrant intensity. 'She is a plague upon this earth, and I will see her stopped if it is the last thing I do!'

"'But how? Even if we can break free of these bindings, the panther will surely catch us, to say nothing of whatever spells the Sultana has at her disposal.'

"'Yes, but did you not hear her? The rituals she used are very specific, and every detail counts. Praise Allah for her ridiculous arrogance! If we can get free, all we have to do is stay alive long enough for the window of opportunity to pass!'

"'We need to free ourselves before we can even consider that, and how do you suggest we do so?' I asked snidely. I had already given up hope, so far gone that I was even getting angry at Nousha for daring to suggest that there was a way out.

"'Like this,' Nousha said, and triumphantly made a movement with her left wrist. In an instant, a blade folded out of one of her bracelets, slicing through the rope binding her. With one hand free, she made short work of the other ropes, then crept over and freed me.

"'How did you do that?' I asked, shocked by my friend's ingenuity.

"'I had one of the palace artisans craft this for me in secret once I started the search. One can never be too careful, after all,' Nousha said, grinning. 'Now let us hurry, before she comes back!'

"The two of us then crept from the chamber, taking an alternate door than the one the Sultana used, trying to find the staircase and make our way to the palace proper, where Nousha could have the guards protect us. The underground lair was set up like a maze, with every room being very similar to one another, and before long I was completely lost. Nousha seemed to have a better idea of how the lair was laid out, but we were still no closer to finding the staircase.

"Suddenly, as we crept through a room lined with ritual daggers, we heard a shrill scream echo through the entire lair, followed by the growling of a panther.

"'They know we're missing! We have to run!' Nousha hissed, and the two of us began to sprint down the corridors. Behind us, we heard the sound of footfalls as the panther charged after us, followed by explosions from whatever spells or potions the Sultana was using.

"I was unsure of how long we were running, but it was at least another two minutes before we finally stumbled upon the staircase, located in a room practically the same as the room we had first awoken in. Relieved, Nousha ran ahead, but before she could reach the steps, a massive form knocked her to the floor.

"'Princess!' I shouted, running to aid her, only to be halted by the sound of flames crackling right next to my ear.

"'Take one step more and regret it,' hissed the Sultana's voice. Turning my head slightly, I saw her pristine features were lined with wrinkles, her hair was graying, and her body lacked the tone it had once possessed, clear signs of her rituals beginning to fail her. Despite that, her expression was viciously clear, and an orb of green flames swirling in her hand, poised to set my hair ablaze, proved that her magical strength was adept as ever. Frightened, I remained still, staring in horror as the panther prowled away from my friend's body, resting its weight on her right arm.

"Suddenly, I heard Nousha groan, and my heart leapt in my chest for a moment, only to sink right back down when I heard the Sultana speak. 'Foolish daughter,' she said, 'did you think I would be so merciful as to allow your father to kill you? No, no you will live long enough to watch me slay your dear friend, and then no longer than it takes to break your body down into my potion. But if you refuse to come along quietly, then you will spend that time without an arm. Now, what will it be?'

"For a few moments, Nousha was silent, her face angled so I could not see the expression on her face. Then, bizarrely, she began to chuckle. 'I will come quietly, _mother_ ,' she said, filling the term with so much bitterness that it transformed it entirely, 'but will you last long enough to complete your rituals? After all, how much time did you spend trying to find us? How much time will you lose taking us back? And how much more can you afford to age before you wither away into nothing?'

'"What?!' the Sultana snapped, shocked and horrified. Raising her other hand, she conjured a mirror of light, and gasped when she saw her features. 'No, no, it cannot be this late! I cannot die here! Not now!'

"Shrieking, she lifted the ball of flame in her hand, poised to throw it at Nousha and incinerate her, when it suddenly went out, as did the mirror in her other hand. Freed of the threat, I stumbled away from the Sultana, turning once I was next to Nousha. Before our very eyes, the Sultana was withering away, her skin becoming marred with imperfections, her hair graying, her body losing definition. In a few moments, she had gone from a mature but still beautiful woman to a decrepit hag, and a few moments more left her nothing but a shriveled corpse, collapsed onto the ground.

"As I stared transfixed at the horrible sight, I heard Nousha gasp. Turning, I saw the panther step off of Nousha's arm, its body aging even as I watched. Looking into its eyes, I was shocked to find the animalistic fury that filled them for as long as I had known it gone, replaced by an incredibly human expression. It mixed sorrow and gratitude so fiercely that I could not tell where one began and the other ended, and I felt my eyes tear up as I realized what had happened.

"Restored to his true self in his final moments, the Sultana's husband, Nousha's father, rested his paw on his daughter's head, somehow conveying a lifetime of affection with a gesture alone. And then, without any fanfare, the panther faded into nothingness, the mercy of Allah taking him peacefully rather than causing him to suffer as his wife had.

"'Goodbye, father,' Nousha whispered, her eyes wet with unshed tears. I knelt down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder, offering what comfort I could. After sitting in silence for what could have been a minute or could have been an hour, Nousha stood up, taking me by the hand. 'Let us return to the palace,' she said, her voice resolute. 'We have quite a lot that we need to reveal.'

"And reveal it we did. When we reached the top of the stairs and re-entered the throne room, we saw a contingent of royal guards standing at attention and facing the entrance of the room. Shocked to see us, they told us that the entire guard was searching for us and the Sultana, as we had been discovered missing about an hour before. They were shocked when Nousha told them what had happened, but soon believed her when she led them to her mother's lair and showed them her corpse. In no time at all, Princess Nousha had made an announcement revealing all of her mother's crimes, and offered to step down and allow the populace to choose a new Sultana. However, the people spoke overwhelmingly in her favor, and so she became Sultana Nousha, and swore to rein justly and kindly for many years. I was even promoted to be her royal vizier, to aid her in all matters of rulership and to stay by her side always. It seemed like our lives were to be as perfect as Allah can allow in the mortal world."

"But it was not to be, was it?" Bahram said softly, and Parisa nodded.

"Indeed, it was not. Just a few months after her rule began, a neighboring kingdom sensed the weakness of a new ruler and took the opportunity to invade and conquer. They were equipped with a great army, the tactics to use it, and the viciousness to overrun any defenses that we could offer. Sultana Zareen, evil as she was, would have been able to repel these forces, even if it meant revealing her powers to the entire kingdom, but Sultana Nousha had no such skill. Even when she left command of the army to her Captain of the Guard, trusting in his experience, even when she provided them the greatest weapons from the palace artificers, even when she offered to surrender herself to the invading army if they would simply let her people be, it was not enough to stem the invaders. Many, many people were killed, including my own parents, and what few were left were forced to flee into the desert to try and find a new home. This included Nousha and myself, who had escaped in secret when it became clear that the war was lost, and that the invaders would take no mercy on anyone they found. And alas, that is where the true tragedy lies."

 _The Tale of Parisa al-Mahzuz, Sultana Nousha, and the Cave of Terrors_

"Forced out of our kingdom, the few survivors wandered the deserts for many months, desperately searching for a place they could call a new home. Nousha remained their sultana, albeit out of the survivors needing _someone_ to maintain order, and she guided our journey with her inherent patience and wisdom. However, that same rulership proved to be a problem. The new monarchs had put out a price for the heads of Nousha and myself, although whether it was out of legitimate fear of her trying to take back the kingdom or simple cruelty I doubt I will ever know. Regardless of the reason, not only did it force Nousha and I to disguise ourselves, but we also couldn't take the risk of settling down in another kingdom, or even a village. One wrong move, and we would bring the wrath of those warmongers upon innocents.

"While initially understanding, her subjects grew increasingly disheartened, especially as food and water began to run out, and worse, they blamed Sultana Nousha for the loss of their kingdom. They said that Sultana Zareen would have defended the kingdom, that Nousha thought herself more important than the rest of them despite her weakness and foolishness costing them their homes, that her inability to find a new home was an even greater sign of her incompetence. What hypocrisy, since they were the ones who basically forced her to take the leadership of our band in the first place! Did they expect Nousha to wave her hand and summon fertile ground out of thin air, or stamp her foot and create an army? Despite my frustration, I did my best to assuage my people, and Nousha and I even allowed ourselves to go hungry so that our people could eat, but their resentment continued to grow. Unless we could find a new home, things would never improve.

"'How do bedouins live like this?' Nousha would often ask me in private, and each time I shook my head and told her I didn't know. Those nights were the better ones; the worse ones saw her crying herself to sleep in my arms, afraid to show weakness to her rabid subjects. We had little to trade or offer apart from some pieces of jewelry and fine clothing, and when those were gone we relied on the kindness of strangers. Soon even my dear sultana was reduced to begging, which calmed the vicious murmurs but not the cries of misery. Eventually, many of Sultana Nousha's subjects started to abandon the group, losing all hope of reclaiming whatever status they had held and settling for the stability of village life, no matter how difficult it would be. They were taken in by villages we passed - none of _them_ had any prices on their heads - and our numbers dwindled ever smaller. They all claimed that they would return happily once Nousha established a new kingdom, but we all knew that that was getting less likely by the day.

"One day, however, when our group was simply Nousha, myself, and ten noblemen and women, decent enough individuals but only staying because they were too weak-willed and too accustomed to luxury to abandon their Sultana, we passed an old goatherd in a faraway village, who took pity on our situation and invited us to dine. His home was simple and his food modest, but such was our need that even the nobles were uncomplaining. When we told him of our troubles, and of our need of money to build a new life for ourselves, the goatherd, surprisingly, pointed us to a nearby scholar. 'He and he alone may hold the key to your people's salvation,' he told us.

"Sultana Nousha and I left to visit the scholar the very next morning, the rest of our party still indulging in the comforts of the goatherd's home. His home held hundreds upon hundreds of ancient texts, piled all the way to the ceiling. The scholar was ancient and feeble, very nearly blind with a beard that reached his knees, and his robes were filthy with stains from meals I cannot fathom how long ago. It took a few minutes to get his attention, as his hearing was nearly as bad as his sight, but finally he looked up from one of his texts. He acknowledged us only for a moment with a tilt of the head and a grunt before returning to his studies.

"'Please sir,' I begged. 'We require your assistance.'

"'I am very busy,' the scholar rudely replied. 'See yourselves out.'

"'Certainly not!' Sultana Nousha cried, despite my attempts to hold her back. 'I have traveled to long and too far to be turned away now! I have heard that you hold the key to rebuilding my kingdom, and I will not leave until you tell me what I need to know!'

"'You know little of guest etiquette, child!' the old man snapped. 'Coming into my home and giving me orders!'

"'I am no mere child!' Nousha shot back, stalking forward towards the man. 'And I would like to see you act properly when you've been wandering through the desert for months, trying to stay one step ahead of bounty hunters while keeping yourself and your subjects alive, forced to be guardian of their fates when they constantly deride you and abandon you! When you have spent weeks crying yourself to sleep because you only have one true friend, one person you can trust to be vulnerable around, seeing your subjects, the ones who entrusted their lives to you, abandon you because they would rather live as peasants than struggle another day, and then get turned away by the only hope you've heard of for months without even a word of explanation, then you may lecture me on my decorum!'

"Her anger spent, Nousha collapsed onto the floor, sobbing hysterically. I knelt over her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders and whispering in her ear to calm her. When her crying began to abate, I lifted my head to glare at the scholar, only to find him with a contemplative expression on his face.

"'Hm...perhaps I was overhasty,' he muttered, rising from his chair. 'If what you say is true, I do indeed have the answers you seek.'

"He moved over to one of his stacks of books, and carefully pulled out a small bound journal. Books clattered to the floor, but he paid them no mind. 'I searched for this for fifty years, and finally found it. Alas, is my old age, I am unable to quest any longer.'

"'What is it?' I asked, staring at the unimpressive text.

The old man gave a sly grin. 'Nothing in this world is free, child,' he answered, holding out a gnarled hand. 'I respect your need, but this information is too valuable to simply give away.'

With tears in my eyes, I clutched the last thing of any value in my possession: a gold necklace, inlaid with rubies - a birthday gift from Nousha the previous year. 'Do I have your promise that this text holds the information we need?' I demanded.

"'You have my word,' the scholar said solemnly.

"The exchange was made, and my sultana and I left without another word. Once outside of his house, we opened the journal. Inside was a map of the desert, with detailed directions to a hidden treasure gifted from Heaven. A week's travel away, there was a cavern buried within the earth with riches beyond imagining. However, the text warned of the trials necessary to retrieve the treasure from the Cave of Terrors, as it was called. Like the scholar, the journal warned 'nothing in this world is free'.

"We quickly reported back to what was left of the sultana's subjects, and set out with our few camels and donkeys to carry back as much treasure as possible. I considered asking Nousha to leave them behind, as I thought they could only hinder our efforts, but I knew I could not ask that of her. Despite their complaining, Nousha and I found ourselves finally in better spirits. The journal was quite clear about the directions to the Cave, as well as the wealth that lay inside. With it, we could rebuild our lost kingdom, hire an army to take back the old one, or even simply leave altogether and travel somewhere else, somewhere where we could live in comfort, away from the price on our heads. Our dreams were filled with joy and possibility.

"For a week, our small caravan traveled the desert, carefully noting the landmarks we passed, until we came upon our destination: a broad, flat plane of desert, marked by a single large stone. On the stone was an engraving: 'Nothing in this world is free'. As the journal instructed, Sultana Nousha placed her hands upon the stone, and I did the same on the other side.

"'I am willing to pay the price,' we said, just as the journal had instructed. For some reason, the journal was particularly insistent that the Cave needed to be traversed with more than one person. If I had only known why that was, I would never have allowed Nousha to enter. There was a loud rumble, and the stone sank into the earth, exposing a staircase into the depths. I clasped my friend's hand for support, and, with trepidation and in ignorance of what was in store, we led our small caravan underground.

"The stairs led deep, deep into the earth, and finally ended within a dark antechamber. Once again, in an arch over the door, we saw the message 'nothing in this world is free'.

"'It seems that the architect was particularly insistent on bringing the message home,' Nousha remarked, prompting a snort of laughter from our entourage. I, however, merely leaned forward into the door, trying to peer through the darkness.

"'I can see nothing from here,' I said, withdrawing and turning to Nousha. 'We shall have to go in blind.'

"'Allow me to go first, my Sultana!' cried a bold young noble, his handsome face lined with the signs of our travel but his _bedouin_ robes still kept immaculate. I remembered him from the palace; he was a particularly indolent sort, and was one of the more outspoken about Nousha's leadership both before and after the fall of our kingdom.

"At once I knew that he planned to run ahead and steal the treasure for himself, but Nousha simply nodded at him. 'If you so desire,' she said. 'Be careful, and call out to us when you think you've found a path we can use.'

"The noble, all arrogant swagger, nodded and stepped through the doorway, shoving me aside roughly as he did so. As Nousha walked over to be to make sure I was alright, we heard his footsteps echo through the room, only to suddenly stop. And that is when he began screaming.

"'Help! Help! Bats!' he shrieked, and we immediately rushed through the door to save him. However, passing through the opening not only caused the impenetrable blackness to fade, but revealed that he was standing in the middle of an empty room, eyes closed and arms frantically waving around his head. There were dark shadows flitting around him, but they bore as much resemblance to bats as worms had to snakes.

"I ran over to him and slapped him across the face, startling him and causing him to drop a copper coin he was holding, which in turn led to the shadows fading away. 'It's not real!' I shouted, and indeed, his screams stopped as he opened his eyes and looked around the room. The visions that were haunting him had vanished with the shadows.

"'But they were here! I swear I could feel their wingbeats against my body, their fangs and claws scraping at my face…' he said, trailing off.

"Nousha sighed. 'It appears that the Cave of Terrors is a home of illusions, ones designed to frighten greedy intruders' she said. 'You, stay in the back. I and my Vizier will take the lead. We have experience with magic and with temptation, which could provide us clarity that you lack.'

"Abashed, the noble walked to the back of the room while Nousha joined me. After a moment debating whether I should try convincing her to stay back, I sighed and walked forward, my friend at my side.

"Walking through the next door, I found the floor scattered with a small number of silver coins. Nousha and I tried to walk around them and lead our caravan to follow suit. However, when we were almost to the door, I heard the sound of someone bending down to pick them up. Instantly, a multitude of spiders and scorpions emerged from cracks in the walls, rushing out to protect their treasure.

"'Stay calm!' came the voice of the arrogant nobleman from before, prompting me to growl. He clearly had failed to learn his lesson. 'They are simply illusions! They cannot hurt - argh!'

"Shocked, Nousha and I turned to look at him, and gasped. The angry, numerous, and decidedly _real_ creatures were crawling all over the man, biting and stinging him as he frantically tried to shake them off.

"'Drop the coins!' Nousha shouted. Indeed, I could see the gleam of silver in his clenched fist, but he either could not or would not let the coins go. None of the others tried to assist him for fear of getting stung themselves, so we were forced to watch as he was assaulted by the venomous creatures. Only after he fell to the floor, his dead body swollen with bites and stings, his handsome face disfigured by poison, did the creatures retreat, leaving the coins behind.

"For a moment, we were all silent. Then, Nousha said, 'So not all of this cave's traps are false. It seems we shall have to be even more careful than I thought.'

"'Is that all you have to say?!' came the voice of a noblewoman, one who had been close to the man now lying on the floor. 'One of your followers is dead, and you did nothing!'

"'I did not see you stepping forward to help him,' Nousha said coldly, anger in her eyes. 'He paid the price for his greed; his life. As this place seems fond of telling us, "Nothing in this world is free". I suggest you all keep that in mind as we continue; after all, I doubt you'll get help from your fellows.' With that, Nousha turned her head and strode forward, I following behind her. Soon, the rest of our group followed, leaving the corpse behind.

"Each room offered greater riches, and each one suggested greater dangers. Nousha and I were never tempted to take anything, but not everyone was so restrained. The traps alternated between illusory dangers and real ones with no discernable pattern, except that they only targeted the perpetrators and vanished once either the treasure was returned, or the taker killed. There were swarms of animals, pitfalls, swinging blades, stones falling from the ceiling. While most times the victim was able to restore their stolen property in time, we lost two more of our party to their greed. Still we continued onward, hoping the true riches were beyond the traps.

"About six rooms in, the traps became much more devious. Voices whispered to us, promising survival and safety if we followed them. The removal of a coin might prompt a banquet to emerge or a bed to appear, inviting us to indulge in the physical comforts so long denied to us. Harems appeared for the men, and another was lost when the mysterious women tore him to shreds. What was worse, these terrors would target all of us equally. Another noble, one who hadn't taken anything, died because she tried to eat from the poisoned banquet, thinking it safe since the food had not vanished when the treasure was restored. Before long, the remaining five nobles fled the Cave in fear. Nousha and I were alone to face the perils in store.

"As we reached the back of the Cave of Terrors, I faced what I thought was the most devious trap yet. Specters of my beloved parents appeared before me, begging me to stay with them, to be a family again. How I longed to be within my father's strong arms again, to touch my mother's soft skin. I was weak and scared from my time without them, from all the hardship I endured, from all the strength I had to fake to keep Nousha alive, and nearly embraced them, but only my sultana's shout brought me back to reality. She had faced her own sort of challenge, resisting the pain of facing her mother, who tried to force her to admit that her kindness and naivete had lost the entire kingdom. She had resisted, saying that while they may not have _saved_ the kingdom, they certainly weren't the reasons it was lost, and even if they were, it would have been worth to keep the Sultana from killing and hurting anyone else.

"Why Nousha was confronted with hatred and I with love still confuses me. Perhaps the Cave was tailoring its trap based on the family of the quester? Maybe it was targeting the quality that was most likely to break either of us? But regardless, Nousha passed her trial, and her shout helped me to pass mine. We walked into the next room, which was filled with gold and jewels surrounding for a carved stone plinth, with a certain object upon it."

"The ring?" Bahram asked.

Parisa nodded. "It was sitting upon the plinth, glowing in the dim light. As Nousha and I walked towards it, she caught sight of the words carved on the plinth and began reading them aloud. 'Nothing in this world is free,' she said, murmuring. 'You have paid for this treasure with the strength of your hearts, but you have not yet paid for the ultimate reward. This ring will grant great power from Heaven, but at the cost of earthly attachments. Let those who have come here know; only one may leave with the ring. The other, should the ring be taken, shall pay the ultimate price.'"

"As Nousha finished speaking, her eyes widened with horror, as did mine. Looking around the room, it was clear that we'd never be able to gather all the treasure by ourselves. Even if we could convince the other nobles to return to the Cave, there was little chance of getting them through the final trial, assuming the Cave didn't collapse upon us leaving. If we returned empty-handed, though, then there would be no stopping the rebellion, and the two of us would likely both die. The choice was clear; one of us would have to die to give the other ownership of the ring. And, without any hesitation, I knew who it would be.

"Walking forward while Nousha stood still, horrified, I placed my hand over the ring. 'I, Parisa al-Mahzuz, hereby claim this ring for Sultana Nousha, knowing full well that the price for such an action shall be my life. Let this ring be of use to her, so I do not give my life up in vain.' And before Nousha could try to convince me not to, I grabbed the ring off the plinth.

"Instantly, I found all my strength leaving me, and I collapsed onto the ground. As Nousha ran over to me, screaming my name, I found just enough energy to lift up my hand, presenting the ring to her. I smiled up at her tear-covered face, happy to be giving my life for the sake of my best and only friend, and her hopes for the future.

"Looking between the ring and my face, she knelt down beside me, placing her hand over mine. However, rather than take the ring from my hands, she said, "I, Sultana Nousha, do not accept the gift of this ring. Instead, I return it to Parisa al-Mahzuz, acknowledging that this will result in my death. In exchange, I ask, no, _demand_ of the powers of Heaven that Parisa not only live, but be fully blessed with the gifts of this ring. May they serve her in all of her endeavors, lest I emerge as an vengeful spirit and strike its creators down, no matter the consequences!"

"Before the last word had left her lips, I felt my strength returning. Before I could do more than gape, Nousha fell to the ground beside me, her face pale and ashen. Sitting up, I immediately moved over to her, opening my mouth to speak the words that would return the ring to Nousha, only for her to cover my mouth with her last bit of strength. Looking down, I saw that despite her pain, she was smiling.

"We didn't say a thing. We didn't need to. Our final conversation was conducted entirely through looks, and it conveyed everything we needed to say. Within the next minute, Sultana Nousha, my closest friend, had gone to the grace of Allah, her spirit painlessly flying free from her body as she smiled up at me.

"I sat in that cave for an unfathomable amount of time, weeping over my friend's body, with nothing to show for it but piles of gold I couldn't take and a magical ring I couldn't use. More than once I cursed Nousha for coming into the Cave of Terrors, but more often I cursed myself for taking her. I wept and raged until my emotions were spent, until I felt empty and hollowed out. Then, and only then, did I pick up Nousha's body and leave the Cave.

"When I stepped out of the Cave, the Sultana's body in my arms, I feared that the nobles would accuse me of murdering her. What they did was worse; they _congratulated_ me for it. They rejoiced that they could finally return home, that the price on Nousha's head would be more than enough to restore their status. They even tried convince me to lead them, saying that they would convince the sultan, the usurper, to withdraw the bounty on my life and let me stay.

"I remained silent for just long enough to place Nousha's body down and grab a sword from one of the nobles, then lost myself in rage. When I was calm again, all five of them were dead, and my cloak was covered with their blood. To this day I do not regret it, even if it was done in anger. In the plot of ground left behind after the Cave collapsed, I buried Nousha with all the honors I could provide. I then tied the bodies to their camels, sent them off into the desert, and then walked away, taking only my sword, the ring, and one camel for myself.

"From that day onward, I wandered the desert without a home or family, following the wind and other signs sent to me from Heaven. The ring's ability to grant luck was soon revealed to me, and I made great use of it in honor of Nousha, to keep her death from being in vain. It has been a long and lonely journey, but it is one that I am happy to have taken."

Her story finished, Parisa leaned back into the cushions, drinking from a goblet of water that appeared as soon as she held out her hand. Then another image flashed before her; one of her making herself comfortable in that unfamiliar room, Princess Nousha offering her a drink.

Bahram was too absorbed in the story he had just heard to notice Parisa's wince at the image, his eyes clouded with unshed tears. "Such hardship you have suffered," he said, his voice soft. "And what I fool I was to think myself the less fortunate. It is you who should be master of this palace, not I."

"Don't be foolish," Parisa replied, a smile removing the edge from her words. "To weigh tragedy against tragedy is to insult us both, and you are by all means worthy of ruling this place. You were the one who created it, and it is your magic that sustains it. Besides," she said with a chuckle, "I would never feel comfortable ruling a palace such as this."

"Then I shall have to make you comfortable very quickly, because I have no intention of having you play the part of a servant here," Bahram said firmly. "Nor, indeed, will I send you off into the desert alone when your task is done. If you do not wish to stay here, then I will join you, but I will not abandon you to deal with your grief by throwing yourself into the wilds."

"It is far too soon to be talking about the future, especially when we have only slain one member of the Ezhdeha," Parisa said, gesturing at the spot on the floor where Ghyr Maryaa's body had lain before the invisible servants had cleaned it up. But her voice sounded lighter, as if Bahram's words and the telling of her story had cleansed her heart of sorrow.

"Then we shall talk about the future when the future comes," Bahram replied, a wide smile on his face.

 _The Tale of Parisa al-Mahzuz, Bahram al-Mahraj, and the Harrowing of the Ezhdeha_

The next week brought more guests, but no more members of the Ezhdeha. Whether they were keeping their distance out of fear or were simply unaware of Ghyr Maryaa's death was unclear, but it did give Bahram and Parisa time to train their abilities. As Parisa soon discovered, the light her ring had emitted to remove Ghyr Maryaa's invisibility was another one of its powers; the power to negate dark magic in its vicinity. It initially only lasted a moment, but practice allowed Parisa to maintain the effect for several seconds. Bahram, meanwhile, improved upon his magic, soon growing able to manipulate the palace's structure at will, generate a variety of weapons from jewels and precious metals, and even create a duplicate who could fight alongside him, all while requiring less rest when he was done. All of these abilities were put to the test when the Ezhdeha sent their next assassin.

Al'amirat Aleatar walked into the palace as a courtesan, her bright blonde hair covered by a _hijab_ , her blue eyes soft and beguiling, and dressed in a robe of the finest pink silk. But when the palace grew agitated at her presence, she immediately cast aside her disguise, covering her face in a mask resembling a rose down to the last detail and revealing a new robe, one as green as a rose's stem and covered with brightly colored vials. These vials were her mystical weapon, able to produce a variety of hazardous substances when thrown. Acids, clouds of scents so strong that they burned the senses, and even bottled illusions were within her repertoire. These would be distracting enough on their own, but combined with her powers of supernatural beauty and, in her combat form, ability to create potions out of thin air, she showed herself to be a deadly foe, especially with Parisa still recovering from the effects of Ghyr Maryaa's poison. Fortunately, Parisa's ring shielded her and Bahram from her hypnotic spells, as well as from strange visions of Bahram being under Al'amirat Aleatar's thrall, and she was easily cornered by one of Bahram's duplicates. However, when questioned about the Ezhdeha's location and the abilities of their members, she only cackled before pulling out a knife and slitting her own throat. The message was clear; there was no information that the thieves would provide.

Next was Nasil Dakin, who made no efforts at all to disguise his entry. He barged through the palace door, a man clad in ornate black armor of a style unfamiliar to Parisa, but that Bahram recognized from his father's books, wielding a thin sword and covering his face with a pitch black helmet. He wielded his blade with supernatural skill, and his weapon's ability to extend and move at will made it even more difficult to dodge. What was more, his speed was such that Parisa could swear that he was accompanied by an entourage of knights, albeit different enough that she could be sure they weren't afterimages. Deciding it was another poison-induced vision, and later theorizing that the constant exposure to dark magic from the other members of the Ezhdeha kept it from abating as it should have, she kept at the fight, but was initially unable to do any significant damage. When a strike from Bahram caused a crack to form in his helmet, he simply entered his combat form, his armor growing bulkier while his helmet transformed into the signature butterfly mask, revealing short dark hair and piercing eyes. Now with even sturdier defenses, he bashed Bahram into a wall, but in his arrogance, he left himself open for a beheading strike from Parisa's _jian_.

Mudaeif and Sarab came as a pair, the Ezhdeha now clearly taking the warriors seriously. Both immediately took their combat forms, their reflective and fox-like masks shaping into butterflies, while their rich robes, multicolored and patchwork for Mudaeif and tawny and red like a fox's pelt for Sarab, shifting into form fitting wear of the kind that Ghyr Maryaa wore. The two warriors fought with illusions, but they used them in two different ways. Sarab, wielding a flute that fired miniature blades when played, conjured a variety of illusions, both solid and not, to attack her foes and to hide her projectiles. Mudaeif, on the other hand, could only create duplicates of herself, but was able to do so in enough numbers that it made up for the lack of diversity. What was more, each duplicate could move independently, and with her weapon being a hand mirror that fired searing blasts of light, Parisa and Bahram were unable to risk standing still when the illusions prepared to attack. Parisa initially attempted to confront Mudaeif, but constant visions of a girl who looked much like the illusionist, albeit with a more innocent demeanor, kept hampering her ability to attack. Fortunately, Sarab prompted no such flashes, apart from a sudden burst of anger and an image of her atop an impossibly tall tower of crisscrossing steel beams. Switching proved to be the proper move, as Parisa's experiences in the Cave of Terrors had acclimated her to discerning illusion from reality, and her increased mastery of her ring's magic led to Sarab receiving a deadly blow. Bahram, meanwhile, had defeated Mudaeif by using his mastery over his palace, summoning a torrent of spikes from the floor to impale each and every one of Mudaeif's illusions, along with the woman herself.

Seemingly desperate, the Ezhdeha then sent a practical army to assault the palace. Tah Al'iirhab, clad in robes in the style of Parisa's heritage that were decorated with images of food, could pull an unlimited amount of food-based weapons from his satchel, use them with superb skill, and even transform his surroundings into new edible weaponry. Upon seeing him, Parisa felt a rush of familiarity, and got an image of him standing over a massive pool of broth. Fannan's paint-splattered robes and sketch-covered mask were clear signs of his talent, as were the complex creations he made with a swipe of his inkbrush, animated with a flicker of his will, and controlled with the motion of his hands. Parisa had a vision of him on a boat in the middle of a river late in the night, declaring his love for her. Faqaeat wore blue robes and had a mask that looked like a translucent bubble, revealing dark skin, a malevolent grin, and eyes that glowed with malice as his rings created a slew of bubbles that could be detonated like bombs, used to trap foes, or transform into animals to assault enemies, but also gave Parisa a faint memory of those same eyes glowing with mirth as he stood on a stage, manipulating odd black disks with his fingers.

Mubara, in his form-fitting clothing decorated with various technological odds and ends, caused her to feel strangely guilty and recall a small boy with crystals before his eyes and a miserable expression as he created his mechanical servants, animating them from small gears, imbuing them with various abilities and sending them into battle with directions written in his book of strategy. And Hamama, his clothes covered with feathers and with a hood in the shape of a bird of paradise's head, commanded an array of avians, calling them to attack with a whistle, directing them to form shapes with a wand, and, as a last resort, gathering them around himself to create a sort of mobile armor, a sight that had Parisa struggling not to laugh as she beheld a vision of plainer birds assembled into various flying contraptions. Parisa and Bahram were overwhelmed by the vast number of weapons and minions their foes had to use, while Parisa herself was conflicted and confused by the sheer number of overlapping visions she was experiencing. The fight ended up getting farther into and doing more damage to the palace than any other, but in the end, Parsia's negation of magic and her skill with her sword, combined with Bahram's own mystical powers, prevailed over the five bandits.

Foe after foe came and foe after foe was defeated. Then came a period of months where the attacks ceased. While Parisa and Bahram continued honing their skills, while also looking for ways to fully purify Parisa of the poison, they soon began to wonder if the Ezhdeha had given up, or if they had even destroyed the group outright. As the calm continued, Parisa and Bahram found themselves becoming more than allies of convenience, and more than friends tested by battle. Love bloomed between them, as sweet as dates and as rich as wine, and the palace soon glowed with the signs of their affection. It was a relationship of respect, of esteem, of friendship, and of deep and abiding affection. For a time, it seemed like all would be perfect. However, the day soon came when the two, entwined in each other's arms after a passionate night, were awoken by a colossal crash coming from outside the palace.

However, I find myself needing to attend to personal matters. As such, you will have to wait to hear of Parisa's and Bahram's final confrontation with the Ezhdeha, and what followed afterwards.


	12. Until, When All Hope Seemed Lost

_MP: Salaam, friends! We've awaited your return._

 **PA2: Indeed we have. And welcome back to the last part of this little trilogy!**

 _MP: And unlike the third Matrix movie, it won't disappoint at every turn...probably._

 **PA2: Have some confidence, friend! We wrote an entire Arabian Night from scratch, made it completely original,** _ **and**_ **tied it into Ladybug! Whether people like it or not, it's an accomplishment!**

 _MP: Yeah, and someone somewhere is already mentally accusing us of cultural appropriation. We live in a golden age of creativity, but a dark age of expression._

 **PA2: I'm more of a glass half-full guy when it comes to that stuff, but whatever floats your boat.**

 _MP: I'm a guy who prefers not to ponder how much is in the glass, but just drink it._

 **PA2: Yeah, that metaphor** _ **is**_ **kind of lame when you get right down to it.**

 _MP: Yeah, anyway...let's not mince words. We wrote this, we're super proud, and we appreciate faves, follows, and reviews, especially reviews. Translations of names are at the bottom of the chapter._

 **PA2: Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 12: Until, When All Hope Seemed Lost**

 _The Tale of Parisa al-Mahzuz, Bahram al-Mahraj, and the Fortress of the Ezhdeha_

Startled, the two quickly dressed and moved to a nearby window where they could see what was attacking them. A skeletal serpent, its head and neck alone the size of the famed lighthouse of Alexandria, its bones the bleached white of the long-deceased, stretched out from beneath the desert sands and was ramming its massive skull into the side of the palace. By all logic, its bones should not have held together, as there was no sinew or muscle connecting them - only the darkest magic. What was more, despite the gaps between the bones being as clear as day, there was a strange sheen to the air around them, one which seemed to mark out walls and windows in empty air.

"The Ezdeha's fortress!" Bahram exclaimed, staring down at the colossal creature. "They must have been waiting for us to lower our guards so that they could launch a final strike!"

"Then we'd best prepare for battle," Parisa replied, adjusting her _jian_ 's position. "What can you learn about that skeleton?"

"Give me a moment," Bahram said, focusing his magical senses on the giant creature below them. After a few moments, he sighed. "The creature isn't alive, praise Allah. It is merely being puppeteered by someone within it. However, that doesn't make it any less worrying. The skeleton was already magically resistant, being from a mystical desert creature, and it's only been further protected since then. The head has been reinforced with alloys that make it tougher and more durable than enchanted steel, and it strikes like the blow of a thunderbolt. The only reason it hasn't destroyed the palace yet is because its masters aren't letting it, probably because they still want to rob us."

"And the inside?" Paris asked calmly. "Even I can see that there's something going on beneath the surface of that shimmer."

"That's the truly disturbing part," Bahram said, his eyes still fixed on the fortress. "From what I can tell, there's some sort of...self-contained palace, linked to the inside of the bones by magic beyond anything I've seen before. I can't see much, but I can tell that it has an army of thieves, an onslaught of traps, and enough treasure to buy and sell the Caliphate twice over."

"Then that's where we need to be. How do we get inside?" Parisa asked.

"Through the mouth," Bahram said simply. "We need to force its mouth open and then charge in before it closes."

"Very well. Bahram, are these attacks affecting your control over the palace?" Parisa asked, turning to her beloved with the glint of an idea in her eye.

Bahram, picking up on it, smiled. "Somewhat, but not enough to keep me from doing this," he replied before clenching his fist. Immediately, the palace doors below them dissolved into ribbons of gold, wrapping themselves around the fortress's head with incredible strength. Try as it might, the serpent could not break the ribbons, which soon grew small hooks and dug themselves into the creature's skull. With a swift motion of Bahram's other hand, the serpent was tilted upward and its jaw was pried open, revealing a dark tunnel where there should have been bleached bone.

Smiling, Bahram took Parisa's hand. "The door is open, my love," he said. "Shall we enter?"

"And put an end to these thieves once and for all? It would be my pleasure," Parisa replied, a matching smile on her face. Hand in hand, the two leapt from the window ledge and, guided by the ring's powers of luck, dove straight into the fortress's open mouth.

The two tumbled down a long shaft, much longer than the serpent's neck had appeared from the outside, before falling into a spacious antechamber filled with tapestries of the very thieves that Parisa and Bahram had killed, alongside those of several other magnificently dressed men and women who had to be other members of the Ezhdeha. Surrounding the tapestries were an assortment of riches, from piles of gold coins and stacks of jewels to finely crafted works of art and artifacts of clear mystical providence. Of course, what drew Parisa and Bahram's attention most were the creatures of shadow standing under each tapestry, as solid and physical as flesh but as featureless and dark as night.

"Back, unholy creatures!" Parisa cried. She balled her fist and pointed the ring at the wicked shadows. They leapt at her, but she conjured a pulse of divine light and the monsters burned away into nothing. However, the moment they disappeared, new shadows emerged from beneath the tapestries, their forms shifting and molding even as they watched.

"The spell is in the tapestries!" Bahram cried out, summoning a pair of golden scimitars as he examined the room. "Those creatures will keep coming back until the tapestries are destroyed!"

"Then we might have something of a problem," Parisa replied as the shadows finished their transformation. Where once stood featureless creatures of darkness, there now stood detailed silhouettes of the various members of the Ezhdeha. Without a word, they charged at Parisa and Bahram, who began to fend them off with blade and spell.

"How is this possible?" Parisa asked as she absently cleaved through a copy of Ghyr Maryaa. "Surely we haven't slain the entirety of the Ezhdeha?"

"This must just be some sort of guard system," Bahram replied as he launched a massive ruby through Tah Al'iirhab's shadowy head. "I'm not sure whether this was always here or just added in case of our assault, but one thing is clear; the leaders of the Ezhdeha have no intention of losing any more of their members."

"Then we need to destroy these tapestries now before we exhaust ourselves," Parisa said. "Whether we have to fight these unknown foes or not, we cannot afford to waste our energy on these illusions."

Bahram nodded, and then transformed one of his scimitars into a massive flower-shaped structure of gold. "This should allow you to project your ring's abilities across a wide area," he said as he handed it to Parisa. "Whether it reaches the entirety of the chamber or not is up to the will of Allah, but at the very least it should significantly reduce their forces."

Taking the surprisingly light construct in her off-hand, Parisa gave an answering nod, then lifted the structure into the air. As her ring glowed, she shouted, "Let all evil magic within my sight be dispelled!" The light then flowed up the stem of the flower and manifested as a blinding burst of energy, one that filled the room. Parisa and Bahram briefly had to shield their eyes, but when their vision cleared, they saw that all of the shadowy warriors had vanished. What was more, all of the tapestries were tattered and torn, having lost all of their color and vibrancy.

However, before Parisa and Bahram could celebrate their victory, or even do more than look at each other in relief, they heard shrill, childlike laughter, seemingly coming from nowhere. In the center of the room, a plume of dark smoke rose up, swirling and shaping itself before their very eyes.

Bahram gasped. "I can feel the same magic within that smoke as I did within the tapestries!" he shouted, entering a battle stance. "Whatever is in there, it's the one responsible for those creatures!"

"Indeed I am," came a voice from the smoke, one that matched the laughter they had just heard, high and playful. "And after you destroyed my precious little puppets so easily, I knew I had to come and see you for myself!"

In the blink of an eye, the smoke dissolved, revealing a creature straight out of nightmares. It resembled a little girl, one with dark brown hair, dark skin, slightly protruding front teeth, and an angelic demeanor. However, it was that same beauty that contributed to the terror, as it was too perfect for any mortal child, especially when her expression was filled with devilish mirth. She was dressed in a gown made out of darkness, shifting and flowing like the smoke she emerged from and decorated with moving images of human-like puppets. Completing the image was a towering construction of ebony filaments and opals perched atop her head, right in between her "horns" of hair.

As Parisa and Bahram stared in horror, the creature gave a giggle and a mocking bow. "My name is Syd Damiya," she said, "and I don't like strangers intruding in my home, especially when they start breaking my things. Now you're going to die!"

With a wave of her hand, the shadowy duplicates reappeared, only this time equipped with the weapons their owners possessed in life. What was more, their mannerisms contained more of their former selves, as if each revival was bringing them closer and closer to full life. Another wave, and the golden flower in Parisa's hand dissolved into nothingness, leaving her without a means to spread her ring's magic.

"I believe it is safe to think that this is _not_ an ordinary girl being controlled by the Ezhdeha," Parisa muttered as she primed her _jian_.

"Far from it," Bahram replied grimly. "She is an _ifrit_ , a wicked _djinni_ whom the Ezhdeha must have summoned as a last line of defense. I cannot discern if her demeanor is an act or not, but there is no one beneath that darkness to save. She must be slain."

Parisa grimaced, but nodded. "Thank you," she said to Bahram. "Had I not had the confirmation, I don't know if I would have been able to bring myself to do it."

"I feel the same way," Bahram replied as he conjured another scimitar.

"Enough talking! It's time to play!" Syd Damiya shrieked, and with a gesture, her army of puppets charged forward, seeking to overwhelm Parisa and Bahram.

As the two warriors leapt into the fray, Syd Damiya flew above their heads, cackling at the show. But that was not all she did, as with each puppet that was slain, she would conjure another just as strong. What was worse, every time Bahram tried to conjure a new object for Parisa to channel through, she made sure to destroy it before it Parisa could so much as grab it. After several minutes, Parisa and Bahram were livid.

"Her tactics are garbage, but she's powerful enough that it doesn't matter!" Parisa growled as she cleaved through another set of shadowy creatures. "At this rate, we'll soon be too exhausted to fight!"

"Perhaps, but like you said, her strategy is pathetic," Bahram replied, his voice annoyed but calmer than Parisa's. "What's more, the fact that she's so set on keeping you from using your ring again all but guarantees that one strike from it will destroy her."

"Wonderful realization, my love, but how exactly does that help us when neither of us possess the ability to fly?" Parisa said, using her ring to dispel the minions surrounding her.

"We may not be able to fly, but we can do the next best thing!" Bahram shouted, making a quick gesture with his hand. Suddenly, the ground under Parisa's feet turned to gold and began to rise up, creating a floating golden disk.

Parisa looked back at Bahram, smiling, but her grin quickly faded when she saw the sweat upon his brow. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Just a bit of an effort to maintain this," Bahram replied as he absently cleaved through another minion. "But I definitely have enough for one lift, so make it count!"

Parisa simply nodded, turning away to look up at Syd Damiya, who was so focused on her depraved game that she failed to notice Parisa's new vehicle.

"That's it, my pets!" the little _ifrit_ laughed. "Tear them to shreds!"

Parisa maintained her silence as her disc was slowly lifted into the air, directly behind the evil _djinni_. The wicked little girl cackled and flailed her arms in delight, unaware that one of her targets had momentarily escaped her slaves.

"Let Allah pass judgement upon you, foul creature!" Parisa whispered to herself, her ring glowing with holy light. Pointing her ring at the disc, she smiled as the enchanted gold magnified and focused the light, causing it to build in intensity until, at last, it flew from the disc.

"Huh?" Syd Damiya said, finally noticing something amiss. "Where is-" was all she had time to say before the ring's light struck her from behind. As it burned through the creature's body, Syd Damiya screamed in agony, wailing and screeching in a more piercing pitch than any human could ever manage. The holy light burned away the _ifrit_ 's very essence, and she withered away into nothingness, as did her shadowy warriors.

Parisa leapt from the golden disc and landed lightly next to Bahram, frowning. "What do you suppose she was?" she asked. "Some sort of guard dog?"

"Probably," Bahram replied, his posture relaxing as he dismissed the still floating disc with a wave of his hand. "But if she was, how powerful must her master be?"

"There's only one way to find out," Parisa said, turning to face the end of the room. With equally determined expressions, the two began walking through the now eerily quiet treasure-filled corridor.

 _The Tale of Parisa al-Mahzuz, Bahram al-Mahraj, and the Lord of the Ezhdeha_

"Do you think this beast devoured the treasure before or after it died?" Bahram chuckled, kicking aside a sapphire brooch.

"I think the Ezhdeha would keep it either way," Parisa replied, grinning. "They're too needy to throw anything away, even if they found it in a dragon's carcass."

"So lazy," Bahram laughed. "Not like a self-made man like myself. I built our palace with nothing but my own two hands. True, it was after I was granted the power of a _djinni_ , but that's just a minor detail."

"Indeed, it's irrelevant," Parisa said. "What has the Ezhdeha built that's half as impressive, or took half as much effort?"

"An empire of thieves that was set to conquer all before you two started interfering," came a voice from the end of the corridor. Shocked, Parisa and Bahram immediately stopped moving and entered into battle stances, glancing around wildly.

"Show yourself!" Parisa shouted, her _jian_ in hand. "Or do you plan to hide in the shadows like the coward you are?"

"Oh, I have no intention of hiding, Parisa al-Mahzuz. I just thought I would make your journey the slightest bit easier," the voice continued, echoing strangely off of the walls. Suddenly, Parisa and Bahram were sent flying forward, moving at such speed that the corridor blurred around them.

With a jolt, the two warriors landed on solid ground, leaving them dazed and wobbling on their feet.

"There, see? Now we can get right to the heart of things, rather than having to wait for you to walk the entire rest of the day," the voice, now clearly recognizable as male, said sardonically. Recovering from their dizziness, Parisa and Bahram quickly took in their surroundings and their opposition.

The room they were in was spacious and made of white bone, tapering at the back in a way that made it clear that they were standing inside the skeleton's tail. Hanging from the "ceiling" was a sphere of dark magic, one which sent tendrils coursing through the room and stretching out into the distance. The austere setting combined with the dark imagery made it a terrifying enough chamber already, but its occupants were what was truly dangerous.

Standing underneath the sphere was a man, tall and gaunt, clad in voluminous purple robes, made of expensive silk and covered with images of butterflies and dragons, ones that moved and flowed across the fabric as if they were alive. His head was covered by a hood, casting his face in mystically impenetrable shadow and leaving only the gleam of his eyes visible. While the man lacked any other adornment or decoration, it was clear that this could only be one person; the leader of the Ezhdeha.

Another image flashed through Parisa's mind, more confusing than any before it. She saw the masked face of this man - and _only_ his face - high above the ground, sculpted from thousands of black butterflies. However, she quickly shook her head to clear it and turned her attention to the other figure in the room.

This one, floating near the magical sphere, was also clad in purple robes, but these robes seemed light and ethereal, floating in a mysterious wind. They were decorated by bright red gemstones, including one shaped like a heart positioned on the left side of her chest. The robes accented the wearer well; a woman with pale skin slightly tinged with purple, short hair colored a mixed shade of midnight black and blood red, and a stern expression in her sapphire blue eyes. She was beautiful and terrifying in equal measure, and Parisa knew her at once to be the _peri_ aiding the Ezhdeha.

"You are not welcome here, children," the _peri_ said in an icy voice. It was as if all warmth and cheer had been drained from her long ago.

"Quite the opposite, Parvaneh," the man under the sphere said, a smug joy in his voice. "I extended the invitation myself. Why else would I have brought our palace to their doorstep?"

"You mean you intended for us to break in?" Bahram asked, his hand tightening around his new golden scimitar.

"Of course I did, you foolish boy," the man replied, the shadows parting to reveal a wicked grin of blinding white teeth. "Why else do you think you would have gotten in?"

"Then why did you unleash your _ifrit_ on us?" Bahram demanded.

The Ezhdeha's leader shrugged. "I am not Syd Damaya's master. She was contained within this place, and cannot harm me or my servants, but I could not stop her from killing any others. Frankly, her death is as much a benefit to me as it is to you."

"So why have you brought us here? You want to have a final battle, to avenge your fallen comrades?" Parisa shouted, glaring at the leader.

However, in response to her righteous anger, the man only chuckled. "No, of course not," he said. "I brought you here to offer you two options. The first is that I kill you, unceremoniously, and then strip your powers from your corpses. The second is that you join me, using your powers to elevate the Ezhdeha to new heights of power and prestige. Choose carefully."

"And you don't see any danger in doing this yourself?" Bahram asked, genuinely shocked by the leader's sheer brazenness.

"I would rather not lose any more of my warriors to your skills if I can avoid it.," he replied. "Finding bandits with enough strength of will to properly utilize my weapons is such an ordeal, after all. Now then, do you have an answer?"

"If you've been tracking us as I know you have, then you already know our reply," Parisa said grimly, shifting her stance slightly and raising her _jian_.

"Indeed I do," the man sighed, shaking his head. "Such foolish children, failing to see the opportunities in front of you. So be it. When your souls reach Allah, be sure to tell him that it was the sorcerer Jahangir, lord of the Ezhdeha, who sent you to him!"

"Not likely!" shouted Bahram. "It is you will be meeting him, and will face justice for what you've done to my father, and all those like him!" he continued, thrusting his blade forward and causing it to extend, shift, and transform into a colossal sphere of mystical metal.

"No more will you plunder the world of its treasures, or abuse its magic for your own ends! Your legacy stops here!" Parisa said, punctuating her declaration with a blast of holy light from her ring.

As the two attacks soared towards Jahangir, the leader gave a slight smirk. "Fools," he murmured, before the golden sphere and purifying energy overwhelmed him.

Bahram and Parisa were shocked. Jahangir had made no move to stop their attacks, and now Bahram's golden sphere was separating from the blade and slamming into the back of the room, glowing with the light from Parisa's ring. When the dust settled, there wasn't a single trace of the Ezhdeha's leader to be seen.

However, neither of the warriors lowered their guard. "We'd be fools to believe him dead from that," Parisa whispered, glancing from side to side. "If that was enough to slay him, then someone would have done it years ago."

"I know, but he's seemed to have outright vanished! Where could he have gone?" Bahram asked, returning his sword to its normal shape.

"Right behind you," came Jahangir's voice, and Parisa and Bahram only had a slight moment to turn before they were knocked across the room by two massive blows, slamming into the bone walls with tremendous force.

"Ah!" Parisa gasped, her body aching from the force of the attack. What was more, both she and Bahram had been thrown with enough force to crack the walls they landed on, leaving them partially wedged into the wall and almost completely immobile. As soon as she noticed that, she turned her attention to where Jahangir's voice had come from, staring at what she saw with shock and fear.

The gaunt sorcerer of before was now ensconced in a towering suit of armor, one colored as purple as the rest of his ensemble. The armor was itself shaped like a sorcerer, clad in long robes and with pockets filled with various mystical devices and weapons. Its hands were currently empty, but that wasn't much comfort when it was unarmed blows that knocked them into the walls. Where the helmet would be was Jahangir himself, his robes flowing over his body and hiding where his flesh stopped and the armor began. However, what was oddest about this weapon was the material of which it was made. Rather than metal, it was constructed of countless yards of colored silk. Incredibly beautiful silk, in fact. Silk finer than any that Parisa had seen before, folded so elegantly that the armor seemed almost to be alive, like it was part of Jahangir's body rather than a weapon.

Bahram, still recovering from the blow, stared at the armor in horror. "That...that is my father's silk! This is what you did with the goods you stole from us?" he asked, horror filling his voice.

"Indeed," Jahangir said, a sick grin on his shadowed face, "And frankly, it almost failed completely. No matter how much I tried, the silk kept fighting my efforts to control it, almost as if it was longing for its true creator. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised; Dariush al-Mahraj was not unskilled in the arts of magic, and turning them towards his silk would have made it a finer product."

"If what you're saying it true, then how could you know of this? And do not _dare_ suggest that you are my father in disguise!" Bahram demanded. In response, Jahangir merely laughed.

"Of course not, you naive fool!" he said. "Us sorcerers keep track of one another, even when one has abandoned much of his magic. Besides, I would have to be an idiot to expect that to work, and what good would it do? I have no need to torture a brave warrior like yourself by making him think that his beloved father is a monster." Here, Jahangir paused, then his grin grew even wider. "At least, not when I can torture him by revealing his father's _real_ fate."

Bahram's expression was frozen for a moment, then fell. "You mean to tell me…"

"I must say, it was quite a spectacle, seeing his body get whisked away by the _djinn_. I even caught a glimpse of them preparing it for burial. Efficient creatures, those spirits. But luckily, they came too late. I already had what I needed. By taking his blood, drinking it, and then spilling it on the silk, I was able to assert my mastery. And thus, my greatest creation was born."

"You...you monster!" Bahram shouted, angry tears flowing from his eyes as he strained against where the cracked bone had gripped him. "You will live to regret this, I swear it!"

"I highly doubt that," Jahangir said sardonically, before reaching into a hidden pocket in his robe and removing a small ivory sword. The armor mirrored his movements, only its sword was suitably massive and made entirely out of cloth.

"As you can see, this armor is directly tied to my soul, and to the core of my magical powers," Jahangir explained, his didactic tone at odds with his battle-ready appearance. "As such, not only can it replicate my movements precisely, but it can also magnify and enhance any of my mystical weapons. This," he continued, waving the sword, "for example, is a blade which consumes the spiritual essence of those it has slain, granting me all of their skills and abilities. As of now, I have killed seven combat masters, twelve magicians, and three traitors of my own Ezhdeha with this blade. And once I slay you with it, I shall acquire all of your powers of creation, Bahram."

"And you continue to pontificate why?" Parisa asked as she struggled against her bonds.

"Because my dear Parvaneh is ensuring that the walls of our lair hold you tight," Jahangir said, nodding his head to the emotionless _peri_. "And I suppose the artist in me can't help but heap praise upon his own creations."

"Well, what do you plan to do to me? I have no special powers. All of my gifts come from this ring, or would you slay me to get the skills of a simple swordswoman?" Parisa snapped, glaring at the two leaders of the Ezhdeha.

Jahangir merely chuckled. "You'll just have to wait and see, won't you? Now then," he said, turning to face Bahram, whose eyes were shut tight, as if in fear of his impending fate, "any final words?"

"I have but one thing to say to you, murderer," Bahram muttered as he opened his eyes to glare defiantly at the sorcerer. "You underestimate us at your own peril."

"Cute, but futile. So be it!" Jahangir shouted, raising his ivory blade up high and causing his armor to do the same. However, before it could bring the blade down onto Bahram, giant strands of gold shot down the hallway behind them, latching onto the armor and dragging it backwards.

"What is this?!" Jahangir yelled as he struggled to free himself from the golden ropes. He tried swinging his sword at them, but the ivory blade, designed for one purpose and one purpose alone, simply bounced off of the enchanted metal. Its cloth double might have had a better chance, but the ropes were binding the arms too tightly for them to move. "How could you have summoned this much gold?"

"Like I said; you underestimate us at your own peril," Bahram replied, smirking even as sweat ran down his face. "While you were talking, I was able to reaffirm my connection to the palace, even from here. From there, it was a simple matter of expanding the golden ropes binding your lair, and move them from prying the jaws open to shooting through its body. It's taking a great deal of my energy, but leaving you helpless is absolutely worth it!"

Jahangir growled as he struggled against his bonds. "Parvaneh!" he shouted. "Dispel this accursed gold!"

"To do so, master, would require me to free the children. The magic in this metal is quite strong, and reinforced by emotion besides," the _peri_ said, as quietly and emotionlessly as ever.

"Bah! Mounted on a wall or crawling underfoot, I can kill them just as easily!" Jahangir said. "Now do it!"

Parvaneh nodded and, without a change in expression, brought her hands together forcefully. As the sound of the clap reverberated throughout the room, the golden ropes shriveled away into nothingness, leaving Jahangir and his armor unbound. At the same time, though, Parisa and Bahram found themselves free of the depressions in the walls, allowing them to elegantly fall back to the ground.

"How much power do you have left?" Parisa asked as the lovers ran to one another.

"I can fight, but not with anything big, and not for long," Bahram answered, his face grim. "And with the arsenal he has, I'll probably burn through my reserves in no more than ten minutes if I try to match his scale."

"Then let's make those five minutes count," Parisa said confidently, priming her _jian_ once more. Bahram nodded and, golden scimitar in hand, the two warriors rushed at the sorcerer.

The battle was fierce, with Jahangir using every weapon at his disposal against Parisa and Bahram. Though only minutes passed, the severity of the situation made each one feel like hours. Indeed, with the armor enhancing Jahangir's speed and Parisa and Bahram hyper-focused on the battle, they might as well have been for all the blows that were exchanged. Glass vials containing fire and lighting were tossed out in waves, followed by a rain of poison-tipped steel raindrops. Parisa and Bahram were able to protect themselves from those, only to be knocked aside by a golden spear that produced focused bolts of lightning on impact. The spear was then replaced by a tremendous shield, one which increased the gravity of the room such that it became difficult to properly move. But when a lucky strike from Bahram's golden projectiles caused the shield to fall apart, Jahangir conjured four more arms on his armor, allowing him to wield six weapons at once.

From blasts of shadow to armies of skeletons, from waves of cloth to towers of bone, Jahangir used the full might of his magic against the warriors. And from her perch above the room, Parvaneh assisted him, not with overt magical attacks, but with replenishments of his strength and vitality, paralyzing of his foes, and even occasionally guiding the position of the serpent so that Parisa and Bahram would end up thrown against the wall.

It was a brutal battle, one meant to be recorded and studied in the Hall of Wisdom for all of time. But as all things do, it ended, and it did so in spectacular fashion.

His ten minutes nearly up, Bahram mustered the last of his magic, creating a colossal diamond floating in front of him. With Parisa channeling her ring's magic into it, he fired the diamond like a shot from a cannon, propelling it with enough force to tear right through the chest of Jahangir's armor. Instantly, the entire thing collapsed into a pile of cloth, one which muffled the rage-filled screams of the sorcerer as it fell on top of him. What was more, the light was refracted through the diamond, sending spotlights all over the room and burning through the dark magic animating the skeletal creature. While it was not enough to destroy the beast, it did make Parvaneh visibly wince as she struggled to maintain its integrity.

But Bahram and Parisa noticed little of this, as they had collapsed in exhaustion the moment the diamond was fired. For a few moments, they lay panting side by side, smiling basking in their victory. But then, before they could do more than turn to look at each other lovingly, a familiar voice reached their ears.

"A worthy battle," Jahangir sneered, rising from the pile of cloth, his ivory blade extended at the defenseless warriors. "But alas, I have claimed victory. What is more, even as you depleted my arsenal, you failed to rob me of the one weapon that truly matters. That is a mistake that you shall not live long enough to regret."

Shocked, Parisa and Bahram tried to push themselves to their feet, but to no avail. They were completely spent, unable to so much as move a muscle.

"Looks like this may be the end for us, my love," Bahram whispered to Parisa as the sorcerer drew closer. "But mark my words, I will see this man dead before he can harm you, even if I have to tear his throat out with my teeth."

"Fret not, Bahram," Parisa replied. "We have fought nobly, and that is all that can be asked of us. Allah shall show us mercy, and shall judge Jahangir when his time comes. I merely regret that I was unable to fulfill my promise to you."

"None of that," Bahram said, smiling despite his fate. "If I cannot blame myself, neither can you. And besides, you have done so much more. You gave me a purpose beyond seeking revenge, trained me to use my strength, reawakened my heart, and allowed me the honor of being your lover. _That_ is where the value of our lives is kept," he finished, tears filling his eyes.

"Very touching," Jahangir said sardonically, now standing over the warriors with his blade in hand. "But you've left me in a bit of a dilemma. I can hardly kill you now, when you're filled with such love and joy. You have caused too much damage to myself and my brigands for me to be so merciful."

"Then what would you do? Torture us?" Parisa asked. "Kill our families? Destroy our palace? There is nothing you can do that can shake our spirits."

"Oh? I can think of one thing," Jahangir said, a sick smile on his hidden face. With a quick movement, he bent down over Parisa and slipped the ring from her finger. With a wicked laugh, he thrust the band over his own hand, his smile growing wider as he heard Parisa's shocked gasp and saw the tears flowing down her face. "This was precious to you for reasons beyond its power, was it not? How it must burn knowing that even that I can take from you."

"Be silent, you creature of evil!" Parisa shouted, but Jahangir was no longer listening to her. Indeed, he had turned away from the fallen warriors and was marvelling over the ring.

"The powers of both Heaven and Hell," he bragged, "wielded by a mere mortal. With this strength and my skill, I could conquer the demons as Solomon himself had done. And why stop there? I have time, I have wisdom, and I have power. Soon enough, I will be able to rule over all, and Allah and his angels themselves will bow to me!"

He opened his mouth to say more, but stopped, standing as still as a statue with his mouth wide open. Around his finger, the ring began to glow with an intense light, one so painful as to sear even Parisa and Bahram's eyes. They tried to look away, but even with eyelids shut the light burned through, growing more and more intense until it was all they could see. For a moment, as if from a distance, they heard a faint scream. And then the light faded.

Parisa and Bahram opened their eyes and gasped. Where Jahangir once stood was nothing more than a pile of ashes, the ring sitting pristinely next to it. There was nothing left of the wicked sorcerer but a small black gem, one which flickered with red and blue light.

"Foolish man," Parvaneh said as the heroes gaped at their foe's remains, floating down from the ceiling and walking up to the pile of ash. "I know of that ring. It cannot be stolen, only accepted by sacrificing that which is most treasured. And a man as selfish as Jahangir treasures only himself.

"Still, I must thank you, children," she continued, picking up the black gem. "Jahangir enslaved me for many years using this gem, and now, I am finally free of him." Shaking her head, she brought the gem to her mouth, opened wide, and swallowed it. She struggled to gulp down the large stone, but ultimately managed with a grimace.

"Hm, perhaps crushing it would have been more appropriate. A pity destroying it is beyond my power. He managed to bind too much of my essence inside of it for me to do so," she mused. She then turned to the stunned and silent heroes and offered a deep bow.

"Once again, my thanks for freeing me from that man's control. Allow me to reward you…" she began, only for Parisa to stop her.

"No need to repay us, fair _peri_. It was our sacred duty to slay as evil a man as he. I speak for Bahram and myself when I say that we need no gifts or wishes for setting you free," she said, smiling widely. A quick look at Bahram showed a matching smile on his face, which was followed by a nod.

"...I see. I suppose that does make sense," Parvaneh said, a calm smile appearing on her face. "Then you have no objections if I choose to take my time with this."

Before Parisa and Bahram could do more than exchange puzzled looks, the _peri_ clapped her hands once, and then twice. In an instant, Parisa and Bahram found themselves wrapped in ethereal chains, suspended in midair and surrounded by various instruments of torture.

"What, what is this?" Bahram asked, shocked at the sight before him.

"My first act as a free _peri_ ," Parvaneh said, still smiling that same smile. "While Jahangir did enslave me, it was not the work that I found onerous. No, it was the lack of vision, the fact that he could not see me for what I truly am."

"And what is that? A traitorous witch?!" Parisa snarled, her confusion having quickly transformed into fury.

"An artist of pain," Parvaneh replied calmly. "A being who has dedicated her entire existence to finding every way a being can be hurt or killed. It is a quest for knowledge, although I do not deny that I find pleasure in it. And I would have gladly worked with Jahangir to further our artistic aims. Instead, he bound my essence in a jewel, refused to listen as I told him the fruits of my studies, and kept me as a pilot and provider of magic. I was so thrilled to finally be rid of him that I was going to give you both painless deaths as a reward, but I'm glad you refused. Studying a boy touched by the _djinn_ and a girl blessed by Allah are sure to produce...exquisite results," she continued, licking her lips sensuously as she did so. That, combined with the utter banality of her tone, sent shivers down Parisa and Bahram's spines.

"Is this it? After all we've done, all we've accomplished, we're to be tortured to death by a creature like this?" Parisa asked herself, her anger spent and her eyes wide with fear.

"Yes, yes you are," Parvaneh replied matter-of-factly. "Now, please hold still. I am testing your basic pain response first, and having you begin thrashing will throw the entire sequence off."

With another clap, the torture tools began slowly floating towards the warriors. They tried to struggle, but their bonds were too tight, and they could do nothing but watch as they saw their doom approaching ever closer.

Parisa, exhausted and defeated, looked over at the similarly despondent Bahram and let her head drop to her chest, tears falling from her eyes. _Oh Allah_ , she thought, _Most High and Merciful One, please. If what we have done has found favor in your eyes, then do not let us become the playthings of this wicked creature. Let my love and I enter into your grace quickly and painlessly, and see each other again in Paradise._

However, the moment her prayer was finished, she heard a strange sound. It was that of metal vibrating on bone, and at first she thought it was a torture tool cutting into her beloved's flesh, but there was no screaming to accompany it. Looking up, she was surprised to see her ring turning so that its stone faced Parvaneh. Without a word or a thought from Parisa, it lit up and shined another blast of holy light. Parvaneh screamed in pain, ceasing her deadpan tone for the first time.

It was also to be the last, as the holy light soon began breaking down Parvaneh's body, causing it to dissolve into glittering dust. As her body faded, Parvaneh stopped screaming, and looked upon herself with an expression that could only be described as a mix between fear and...ecstasy. "So this...this is true pain," she murmured, her voice returning to its emotionless state. "It is as I always thought...both beautiful and terrible...to know one is alive and dying all at once...it is...sublime," she finished, her voice a simple whisper as she completely faded away, leaving only motes of red and blue particles floating where she once stood.

As Parvaneh died, her power over the young couple did the same. The two found themselves freed and sitting on the ground, the tools having vanished., Without another word, they lay back down on the floor, trying to recover from the emotions of the past few minutes. Parisa eagerly slipped her ring back upon her finger. Their rest was short-lived, though, as the great beast's skeleton began to shudder.

"What was that?" Parisa asked.

"Without the magic sustaining it, the base is collapsing!" Bahram said. "Quickly, we must take cover!"

"With what? You're out of magic, and I don't have anything that can shield us!" Parisa snapped. Inside, she thought, _No, Allah would not be this cruel. He would not save us from death twice only to crush us underneath this skeleton! There must be a way out!_

"We need to get to the next room!" Bahram shouted, gesturing to the entrance they had been forced in from. "I don't know how far we were jumped, but with all the treasure the Ezhdeha has stolen, there have to be piles we can hide under in reach!"

"Then let's go!" Parisa shouted, energy coursing through her body as she and Bahram leapt up from their seated position and raced away from the collapsing room. With the very last of their strength, they ran through the door and leapt into the nearest and largest pile of gold coins, burying themselves deep within.

With a noise that could be heard far across the desert, even reaching the Far East and beyond, the massive skeleton collapsed and cracked, spreading polished ivory, piles of treasure, and motionless bandits across the palace, the oasis, and the surrounding sand. For a few moments there was no movement in the area. But, within moments, Parisa and Bahram emerged from the pile of gold, very much alive.

 _The Conclusion of the Tale of Parisa al-Mahzuz and Bahram al-Mahraj_

And so we begin to reach the end of our story. When Parisa and Bahram had regained their strength, Bahram quickly captured the remaining members of the Ezhdeha, who had been launched from the fortress when it had collapsed. While there were those who had been killed in the ensuing chaos, quite a few still lived, albeit now bereft of magic with Parvaneh's passing. Parisa confiscated and destroyed their weapons from Jahangir, and then she and Bahram took them to the capital to be tried and sentenced.

When the caliph heard of their arrival, a warrior woman and a magician escorting a caravan of killers wrapped in gold chains, he immediately invited them into his palace and asked his scribes to record their story. And so Parisa and Bahram related it all, from Parisa's life with Sultana Zareena and Nousha, to Bahram's loss of his father, to the two's chance encounter, to the defeat of the Ezhdeha.

"This is marvelous!" the caliph said, clapping his hands with glee. "This is a story of such wonder that it should be inscribed in letters of liquid gold on the walls of the greatest building in this city!"

"With all due respect, O Honorable Caliph, such an effort would require painting the entire city in gold. Both because every building within it is the greatest, as this is the greatest of all cities-" Parisa began, only for Bahram to stop her with a smile.

"-and because our story is much too large to fit on any one building, no matter how large," he finished, chuckling. Parisa glared at her beloved, but the caliph only laughed.

"Well said!" he chortled, smiling widely. "And now, how is it that I can repay you for your story, and for your deeds? Thanks to you, the Ezhdeha will no more plague our land, and all traces of their magic has been eradicated. You could ask for the moon itself, and to get it would be but the smallest token of my esteem."

"There is but one thing I ask," Bahram al-Mahraj told the caliph. "That you and your entire kingdom be our guests at our wedding. Parisa," he said, turning to his lover, "would you grant me that which would make my life, already blessed by Allah, complete?"

"Oh, yes, Bahram!" Parisa cried, clasping his hands within hers. "A thousand times yes!"

"Thank you!" Bahram replied, smiling at his beloved.

And so the very next day, Bahram, fully rested, created the greatest wedding ceremony the world had ever seen. Guests, from the great caliph to the poorest beggar, were carried to Bahram's magic palace, repaired and made grander than ever thanks to Bahram's newfound joy, upon the backs of horses, camels, and elephants, to be placed in a garden the size of a village filled with orchids and roses of every color. Food was piled high on the tables: succulent meats dripping with juices, plump, ripe fruits of every shape and size, and honeyed cakes piled high as towers.

While the event began with a traditional Muslim ceremony, Bahram wanted to celebrate the world that he was finally able to see in full, and so a Western-style ceremony was arranged as a spectacle. In the newly constructed church, built with the caliph and _imam_ 's permission for the sake of the ceremony, Bahram, dressed in a robe of his father's finest silks, which had been collected from the Ezhdeha's fortress and purified to remove Jahangir's control,, stood upon the altar as Parisa, clothed in her finest scarlet garments, proceeded down a long rug studded with diamonds and sapphires, carrying a bouquet of the finest, most fragrant red roses.

"Parisa al-Mahzuz," Bahram said as she reached the altar. "When I thought my life was at an end, you gave it a new beginning. You are my everything, my only, and for the rest of my life I shall dedicate myself to bringing you the joy you deserve. And, in addition to this promise, I have a gift for you."

Reaching into the pockets of his robe, he pulled out a pair of gold and jade earrings. "These, unlike many of the gems and precious metals I have conjured, were not pulled from the earth, but crafted by my own magic. They are unbreakable, eternal, and precious beyond measure - exactly like my love for you. Please, honor me by wearing them."

"Of course, my beloved," Parisa replied, taking the earrings from Bahram's outstretched hand. Placing them in a fold of her dress, she reached up to her ears to remove the ruby earrings already there. She placed a hand upon the first, ready to remove it-

"Ahh!" Parisa shouted, her hand flying to her side. For a moment, she felt as though her head was about to burst.

"My love, what is wrong?" Bahram asked, clutching his bride by the shoulders. "Is it lingering dark magic? Is it affecting your mind?"

"No…" Parisa groaned, shaking her head from side to side. "It's something...an upwelling, a pouring of visions...of memories!"

"The past is behind us, Parisa," Bahram said, smiling in his beloved's face. "Do not grieve for Nousha or my father. Let us enjoy this day, and all that we have earned from it!"

Gently, Bahram reached up to Parisa's ears, his hands delicately touching the-

"Stay away!" Parisa screamed, smacking his hands away from her ears. In that moment, her vision swam, seeming to be doubled. For an instant, she saw herself in a darkened room, wearing a strange skintight outfit, the smell of incense in the air. But in a moment, that vision faded as if it had never-

"No, no, no!" Parisa shouted, fighting to keep the image at the front of her mind. "I know this garb...I know this place….I remember…"

"My love…?" Bahram asked, backing away from Parisa. "What is happening to you…?"

"Those visions…" Parisa muttered to herself, shaking uncontrollably. "They're not dark magic…"

Images danced through Parisa's head at lighting speed. Her parents, comfortably baking in a shop unlike any she'd seen before. The strange fairy-like creature who was both mentor and best friend. The rush of joy she felt transforming into...into…

Nevertheless, while the content of the visions was imp _ossible to describe, Parisa's head soon cleared, and she reached up to remove the earrings and hand them to Bahram._

"No!" Parisa shouted as the world began to waver around her, like the fading of a mirage. "I don't know what is happening, but this is too much to ignore!"

The visions continued to arrive, more and faster. Parisa showing off a feathered hat to a stern-faced gentleman on a crystal screen. Parisa watching with envy as a girl resembling Syd Damiya was fawned over by a man with a strange contraption of glass and wood, the girl next to someone hidden in shadow. Parisa and Nousha talking about things she had no concept for, had never had a concept for, was never meant of have a concept for.

" _Parisa!" Bahram cried, reaching for his deranged lover. "Come with me! Give me those earrings! I need to help you before you hurt yourself!"_

Suddenly, Parisa stopped. She stared at Bahram, now the only thing visible in a featureless void that was once a elaborately designed wedding palace. But when she looked into Bahram's eyes, she saw nothing. No love, no joy, nothing at all; just a gaze as empty as a doll's.

But it was a gaze that evoked memories in her...memories of similar eyes with an expression of kindness, handing her an umbrella as the rain poured around him and thunder clapped...eyes which belonged to...to…

 _Adrien_ , she thought to herself And as the word reverberated through her head, Bahram, the void, and the last traces of Parisa faded away, and in their place…

...was Ladybug, recumbent on a vibrantly colored and exquisitely carved bed, in a room lit only by incense burners and moonlight. The room was filled with books and carvings, some erotic, some mystical, but all beautifully designed. Tables were loaded with fresh and dried fruits and iced decanters of juice and wine.

And lounging next to her, an angry expression on her face, her hands inches away from Ladybug's earrings, was Alya, who was glad in robes of desert gold and night-sky black, wearing golden rings and gem-studded necklaces worth as much as anything Ladybug had ever seen.

Barely even thinking, Ladybug kicked Alya away and, with a toss of her yo-yo, tied up the transformed girl.

"What. Did you do. To me?" Ladybug said, her voice quiet but filled with intense anger.

"Come now, dear, don't you remember?" Alya said, smiling. Her voice was lusher and fuller than its normal status, and it flowed from her lips like a crystal stream, its sound evoking a wave of memories in Ladybug

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

 _Ladybug charged through the door, eyes flickering from side to side as she prepared for an attack. But there appeared to be nothing dangerous here. No monster, no minion, not even a test or trap. Just a lavish room decorated with plush sofas and a table straining under a feast of fruits and juice. There was an open doorway in the wall, leading to what seemed to an equally elegant bedroom._

" _This isn't going to fool me, you know!" Ladybug shouted as she walked around the room. "I know you're in here waiting, so let's get on with it already!"_

" _Patience, Ladybug," came a familiar voice from the bedroom. Alya walked in, dressed in fine Persian robes and adorned with shimmering jewels. Rather than standing to fight, though, she threw herself down on a couch and plucked a handful of olives from a bowl. "Your foe will be here soon enough."_

 _Ladybug looked at Alya skeptically. "Wait, you mean you're not in charge here?"_

 _Smiling, Alya shook her head. "I never said that. I control it. But I know you well enough to know you'll never strike down a helpless girl. So why not make yourself comfortable before my servant arrives? Have a fig. Take as much as you like."_

 _Ladybug stared at the table, but didn't move._

" _It's not poison, Ladybug," Alya said as she sensuously rolled an olive around her mouth. "And if you don't take something soon, I might get offended."_

 _Ladybug picked up an olive, but didn't bring it to her mouth._

 _Alya rolled her eyes. "So suspicious, oh great hero!" she laughed. "Relax. Lighten your burden for a little while. I'm sure it has been an exhausting day."_

" _I'm on the clock," Ladybug replied, but even as she spoke she felt a wave of exhaustion rush over her. It had been quite a long day…_

" _Oh please, you have plenty of time," Alya said dismissively. "In fact, to pass it, how about I tell you a story?"_

" _I think I've had enough fairy tales for one day," Ladybug said, even as her eyes grew misty..._

" _Nonsense!" Alya replied as she arranged herself on the bed. "I've been rolling some ideas around. Please, if you won't eat, then just listen. Join me in the bedroom, and we will begin with_ The Tale of Bahram al-Mahraj and the Red-Clad Traveler."

 _Ladybug only nodded as Alya took her by the hand and led her into the bedroom, sitting her down upon the bed._

"' _A savage wind blew throughout the Persian desert as a mysterious stranger rode into Tehran…'"_

 _Alya's voice grew stronger, clearer. Ladybug could already feel herself being absorbed into the story…_

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"I know you put me into some sort of fairy tale, _Scheherazade_ ," Ladybug growled, emphasizing the minion's name. "I even remember what happened in it. What I'm asking is how much of my tale were you able to see."

"Nothing," Sheherazade chortled. "Whatever images you saw came from your own memories, to make you more comfortable in the paradise I created. Of course, I shouldn't be surprised that you escaped. No fantasy could ever fully capture _you_."

"So, what, you expect me to believe that you couldn't see anything that was going on in there?" Ladybug asked skeptically.

"If I could, then why go through this whole rigmarole? I can create a basic plot, determine how lost people are in it, and even strengthen it if it begins to falter. But I cannot actually witness the visions within. You, and you alone, can picture your perfect world...within the limits of the One Thousand and One Nights, at least."

"That explains a lot," Ladybug said, flushing at the memory. _Thankfully the romance scenes were never fully described, because otherwise…_ Ladybug shivered at the thought. "And I'm guessing you have the power to make people trust you more easily?"

"One could call that the greatest superpower of all," Scheherazade said with a grin. "But it only goes far enough to trap you in my illusions. Otherwise, I would have simply asked you to hand over your earrings."

"But why wait so long to try to take them? Were you just that wrapped up in your own story that you forgot what to do?" Ladybug asked snidely.

"Far from it," Scheherazade sighed. "I needed to make sure you were completely entranced before I took them. After all, you know how you kept fighting the entire time I had you under my spell. If I had made any move to take the earrings before the end, you might have woken up. And I'm not equipped for a duel."

"What a shame," Ladybug snarled. "Now I know for sure that it hasn't been months since you put me under, but how long _has_ it been?"

"See for yourself," Scherezade said, gesturing to the corner of the room. Standing there, unbeholden to Ladybug's will, was the hourglass, which now had barely more than a trickle of sand left in the top.

"No!" Ladybug gasped. "It can't be!"

"It can and is," Scheherazade said, grinning. "I delayed you more than any other of Frau Marchen's servants had. My story consumed nearly all of your time. You might have awakened if touched, but you were still so enraptured that I was able to take a couple of breaks in the middle without risking a thing. By my estimation, you have maybe ten minutes left before the sand runs out. And once it does…"

"Well, that's not going to happen! After all, I know what you're really hiding!" Ladybug said, jumping to her feet. "Frau Märchen's right in the next room, isn't she? That's why you're stationed here: because you're her best hope of keeping me trapped long enough to run out the clock!"

"Not a bad deduction," Scheherazade mused, her grin growing wider. "You'll just have to find out, won't you? If you survive, that is."

"I don't have time for this," Ladybug muttered, freeing Scheherazade from her yo-yo. "I want a straight answer!"

"Fine then. Here's a straight answer," Scheherazade said, reaching inside of her robe. "A razor sharp double-edged answer!" she continued, pulling out a knife and lunging at Ladybug.

With a single blow from the yo-yo, though, the minion was knocked aside, slamming into a wall and dissolving into mist without another word.

 _Wow, she really_ was _weak!_ Ladybug thought, but soon threw herself entirely into searching the room for a door leading out. Suddenly, she saw one out of the corner of her eye, a black door covered with ornate purple designs, all concentrated around a luminescent butterfly in the center.

"Ah ha!" Ladybug said, grinning. "Found you!" With long strides, she ran to the door, opened it up, and ran through…

...back into the central atrium. Ladybug had just enough time to look shocked before she heard the door shut behind her. Swiftly turning, she saw it fade into paint as the others had.

"No…" Ladybug muttered to herself, turning her head from side to side. "There has to be...there _needs_ to be…"

But there wasn't. All of the doors were sealed shut, all the pathways were traversed. And now, with less than ten minutes left before she lost her Miraculous, Ladybug had no clue what to try next.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

 _MP: And now, as promised, translations of the names. Take time to appreciate our careful consideration._

 _Parisa al-Mahzuz = The fairy-like lucky one_

 _Bahram al-Mahraj = The jester who wins over resisting people (we chose the name before working out the whole story, but it sure seemed to fit Cat Noir)_

 _Dariush = A good and wealthy protector_

 _Rahim = To be kind or show mercy_

 _Ghyr Maryaa = Invisible_

 _Zareen = Made of gold_

 _Nousha = Kind-hearted_

 _Al'amirat Aleatar = Princess Fragrance_

 _Nasil Dakin = Dark Blade_

 _Mudaeif = Multiplier_

 _Sarab = Fox_

 _Tah Al'iirhab = Chef of Terror_

 _Fannan = Artist_

 _Faqaeat = Bubble_

 _Mubara = Gamer_

 _Hamama = Pigeon_

 _Syd Damiya = Puppet Master_

 _Jahangir = Ruler of the world_

 _Parvaneh = Butterfly_


	13. She Found and Defeated the Witch

**PA2: Hello all, and welcome to our penultimate chapter!**

 _MP: Only call it that if the next chapter is our last ever. Which it isn't._

 **PA2: Must you be so persnickety? The readers know what I meant!**

 _MP: Like you don't nitpick._

 **PA2: ...Fair. How about "Welcome to** _ **this particular fic's**_ **penultimate chapter!" Does that work?**

 _MP: Yes. Anyway, we worked for months to reach this point, and I know that you all can't wait. So, here's some more commentary to make you wait._

 **PA2: Should we just save it to pad out the last chapter and just get into the action now?**

 _MP: Fine. Kudos to all those readers who figured out what was going on those last three chapters!_

 **PA2: Yeah, we were really psyched that so many people caught on-**

 _MP: Speak for yourself. I lost that bet._

 **PA2: -** _ **and**_ **that they enjoyed the story we came up with. It's probably our favorite part of the whole fic.**

 _MP: Great, now_ this _will feel like a letdown! Way to poison the well, name withheld!_

 **PA2: Well, other name withheld, maybe you should have thought of that** _ **before**_ **devoting the three chapters before the final battle to an authentically styled Ladybug Arabian Night.**

 _MP: We should seriously consider trying to get that story published on its own._

 **PA2: We'd have to rewrite the heck out of it to get rid of all the Ladybug references, but not a bad idea. Anyway, we've stalled long enough, and we're as excited to have gotten here as you are. Enjoy the chapter, everybody!**

 **Chapter 13: She Found and Defeated the Witch**

Alya moaned and blinked her eyes open, trying to shake herself out of her stupor. Her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton, and she was having a hard time remembering much of anything.

 _My name is Alya Cesaire,_ she reminded herself. _I'm fourteen, and I go to Collège Françoise Dupont._

Confident that she at least remembered _enough_ , she tried to take a step, but found it quite impossible. Her wrists and ankles were bound in chains, and she was suspended against a wall, one which strangely seemed to be made entirely out of violet cloth. Looking up, she was shocked to see that rather than a roof, the area was contained within a hall of tapestries, richly decorated images stretching into the distance and they moved and shook in an unseen wind.

"What the…?"

"Well, the gang's all here," sighed a familiar voice next to her. Alya turned her head. It was Nino - sort of. He was dressed in ridiculously colorful patchwork clothes, and a flute was tucked into his belt. Like Alya, he was chained to the wall.

"Nino! What-" she began, only to stop as her head started pounding. Groaning, she shut her eyes tightly as vague images started going through her mind. Images of her lounging on a bed, of talking to Ladybug, of…

"Oh no," Alya muttered as the pain in her head abated. "Did I turn into a villain again? And," she continued, looking down the robes she had on, "what am I wearing?"

"In order, sort of, and whatever Frau Märchen decided to put you in," Nino replied, resting his head against the wall. "We were minionized, or however you call it."

"Really?" Alya asked. "I mean, it makes sense, but don't villains have more...uniform minions?"

"Well, Frau Märchen's theme is fairy tales, so she had a lot of options to choose from," came another voice from her other side. Turning her head in that direction, Alya gasped when she saw Cat Noir chained up next to her, dressed in some sort of nobleman's outfit, with sturdy black boots and a floppy hat. "Besides, could you imagine seeing me in a uniform? That would be a real fashion _cat_ -tastrophe."

"Cat Noir! She captured you too? But how?" Alya asked, shocked.

"She got me right as I was about to make it out of the school," he replied, his voice despondent. "I was two steps from making it out the window before I got caught by her spell. So, what'd she do with you? I was Puss in Boots, as you can see."

"I, uh…"

"Just think back. You'll remember soon enough. Frau Märchen doesn't have the good grace to let her minions _forget_ what she forced them to do."

"That's...sadistic," Alya said, shaking her head. "But you're right, it _is_ coming back to me! I was Scheherazade. My report topic, believe it or not."

"Yeah, I think most of us ended up as our report topics," Nino said. "I just feel sorry for Max over there."

"Over where?" Alya asked.

"Right here," came Max's voice, albeit now magnified by several decibels. Peering around, Alya was shocked to see a giant spine-covered dragon chained to a nearby wall, one with Max's glasses on its snout. Now that she was looking, all of her classmates and teachers, as well as a bunch of schoolmates she recognized but didn't know by name, were hanging all around her, each transformed into a fairy tale character.

"Max? You're a dragon?" Alya asked, feeling like a broken record but too confused to stop asking questions.

The dragon - _Max_ \- nodded. "I wanted to write about something obscure," he said, "and I figured that a monster like the Peluda would be perfect."

"Yeah, yeah, Max is an overachiever," Chloe, now with a mermaid tail, whined. "So, is she the last one? Does this mean Ladybug beat all of us?"

"I think so," Cat Noir said. "Part of my mission required having a roster of all of you, so I'm pretty sure that Alya's the last one left. Now we just have to hope that Ladybug beats Frau Märchen before time runs out."

"But doesn't she have to find her first?" Rose asked, her green dress swaying slightly as she moved. "We weren't told too much about the rules, but I know that much at least."

"Don't worry," Cat Noir said, smiling for the first time since he arrived there. "I know Ladybug's going to find her in no time flat."

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Okay Ladybug, think," Ladybug said as she paced back and forth, looking at the hourglass. "You know Frau Märchen doesn't do unwinnable games, so there _has_ to be a way to get to her. All you have to do is find it. Now, think like a fairy tale witch…"

But nothing was coming to mind. She wasn't panicking yet, but she was getting close.

"Urgh, I have to find it fast! If too much time passes, then I won't have enough left to beat her before the deadline!" she snapped, hitting her temples with her hands. "There has to be something I'm missing, but what?"

Looking up, Ladybug tried to spot a hidden door or passageway, but nothing struck her as particularly important. Just useless doors and exquisite murals. Murals that looked incredibly lifelike, as lifelike as anything she'd seen…

"Of course!" Ladybug shouted, realization putting a smile on her face. "Those murals have to be significant!" _And if they aren't, then I'm out of luck!_ she thought, but didn't say. Swinging her yo-yo, she sent it flying into the mural of Snow White.

As soon as her yo-yo touched it, the mural began to glow a soft red light, emitting a steady hum. Now smiling even wider, Ladybug caused the yo-yo to hit Hansel and Gretel's mural with the flick of her wrist. However, when she did that, not only did nothing happen, but the Snow White mural ceased to glow.

"Huh?" she asked, glancing around the room. "Why didn't that…" she continued, before her eyes widened. "Of course! It's like a combination lock!" _And I need to figure out the order fast!_

Ladybug's eyes darted across the room, glancing at the various murals. _Okay_ , she thought, _I know that Snow White is the first one, but what are the next? Think, there has to be some sort of clue…_

Suddenly, Ladybug remembered Ms. Bustier's class from the day before. It was clearly an impetus for her akumatization, but there was something more. Three particular fairy tales that she mentioned…

Without wasting a moment, Ladybug swung the yo-yo into the Snow White mural again, causing it to glow. She then turned to hit the Cinderella mural, which began to glow yellow. Grinning wildly, Ladybug slammed the yo-yo into the Scheherazade mural, making it glow green. However, nothing else happened.

 _There has to be one other key,_ Ladybug thought, _but what? What would she possibly use for..._

A thought struck her, and Ladybug began looking around the room for a mural of Frau Märchen herself. There were no direct images of the villainess, but there _was_ a large purple butterfly, one that seemed just a bit more realistic and detailed than the others.

Glancing over at the hourglass, which now down to about seven minutes, she shrugged. "Worth a shot," she said, then slammed her yo-yo into the butterfly mural. Immediately, the entire room went pitch black. Even the hourglass was gone.

"What the heck?" Ladybug asked, looking around wildly. "What just happened?"

"What happened, child, is that you figured out the trick," came Frau Märchen's voice. "And with time to spare! You might actually have a chance at getting out of this!"

"Show yourself!" Ladybug snapped, priming her yo-yo for an attack.

"Certainly, child," Frau Märchen snickered. Ladybug heard the witch snap her fingers, and the room lit up. It was a large, cylindrical place, but she couldn't make out much more than that, since every inch of wall and floor was decorated with tapestries of the fairy tale characters she'd defeated. The images were beautiful and lifelike, almost looking like they could leap off of the cloth at any moment. Of course, most of Ladybug's attention was focused on Frau Märchen, who was sitting in the back of the room on a large throne of black marble, covered with images of purple butterflies, holding her black grimoire in her hands.

"Congratulations, Ladybug," Frau Märchen said, spreading her arms as she rose from her throne. "I had my doubts that you would make it this far. It would make for a rather disappointing ending to our story if you hadn't. But there's no need to worry about that now. You've earned the right to face me in combat."

"Cut the small talk!" Ladybug snapped. She spun out her yo-yo and hooked the witch by the ankle, tripping her and sending her crashing to the floor. "You're not going to stall me and complete your spell!"

Frau Märchen cackled at this as she effortlessly rose to her feet, her demeanor completely unaffected by her fall. "Stall you?" she laughed. "Heavens, no! I intend to _destroy_ you, and make it public! Behold!" The witch opened her grimoire and sent out a burst of what looked like stardust, which flew up towards the ceiling. Little changed, but the entire room began to glow. "There! Now my entire domain will witness your defeat, and my rule will never be questioned!"

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Back outside, down the Champs-Elysees, the Emperor (in name only, as Frau Märchen ruled all), was taking a walk to show off his magnificent new robes. Perched upon his shoulder was Frau Märchen's messenger owl, who affected a look of supreme disdain and disinterest at the entire affair. Various people and anthropomorphic animals stopped and stared at the nude Emperor, then continued about their business, seeing it as just one more quirk of the strange and mystical kingdom in which they lived.

Suddenly, the Queen's Herald rushed into the center of the road, holding a glowing sphere in her hand. "Hear ye, hear ye!" she shouted, her mauve livery glowing in the pink light of the sunset. "Our Queen demands our attention as she does battle with the last challenger to her rule!"

Suddenly, the entire crowd stopped and collectively shivered. Frau Märchen was the one thing they truly feared, for all that she was responsible for their existence. The thought that she might reign forever was too terrifying to think about.

The Herald, heedless of the crowd's shift in mood, tossed the orb above her head. When it reached the apex of its arc, it burst into a glimmer of starlight which soon collected into an image of Frau Märchen's throne room, where she stood before a girl in a strange red outfit with black spots.

And in the backs of their minds, all of the citizens of Paris, from the two bears busily preparing porridge in their cottage to the Emperor standing there in his "mystical vestments", felt a surge of hope well up inside them.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Simultaneously, a column of light shot up in Frau Märchen's prison, which soon widened to show the exact same scene, but here it was greeted with familiarity.

"She made it!" Alya cheered. "Ladybug's gonna save us!"

Most of the prisoners were similarly joyful, but there were a few who were more focused on something else.

"Is it just me, or does something about that lair seem...off?" Cat Noir asked, scanning the image intently.

"I'm feeling it as well," Max replied, his eyes squinting, desperately trying to see through his grossly undersized glasses. "Those tapestries...they're-"

"They look like the ones in here!" Rose piped up, prompting a nod from Juleka.

"Yeah," she continued, her voice intense. "But they're not just similar. They're _exactly_ the same."

"So what?" Alix asked, slightly aggrieved. "Who cares about the interior design here?"

"Alix, we already know we're not trapped in someplace normal," Cat Noir said, frowning. "So, when you see a room filled with tapestries, and those tapestries happen to look a lot like the ones you see around you…"

"...Oh no," Alya said, realization filling her voice. "You mean we're-"

"Look! Frau Märchen's talking again!" Sabrina interrupted, causing the entire room to refocus on the image, where Frau Märchen was indeed speaking.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"See Ladybug? Now the entire kingdom can watch as I defeat you, claim your Miraculous, and truly begin my conquest over the world!" Frau Märchen said, her grimoire glowing with magical power.

 _Puss was obviously lying about her akuma being in the tiara,_ Ladybug though, staring at the book. _It's gotta be in that book of hers!_

But before Ladybug could say anything, there came a vaguely familiar voice. "WHAT?!" it yelled, prompting Frau Märchen to sigh in annoyance. "Frau Märchen, what is the meaning of this?"

"You can't tell? It means I lied to you, Hawk Moth," Frau Märchen replied disdainfully. "I mean really, did you think I'd be content with just one little kingdom? No, I need to turn the entire world into my own personal fairy tale, one which I can rule as I see fit! Every story will have its place, and I will be the storyteller in charge of it all! Frankly, you were foolish to not look deeper into my mind."

"And the Miraculouses?" Hawk Moth continued, his voice taking a dangerous edge.

Ladybug watched all this in amazement, but quickly shook her head and seized her opportunity. She leapt and launched her yo-yo at the villainess, wrapping it around her throne and using it to propel herself upwards so that she could come down, somersaulting, to slam her leg down on Frau Märchen's head. Frau Märchen, however, simply sighed and grabbed Ladybug by the ankle before contact could be made and tossed her into the nearest wall.

"Grown-ups are talking, dear," she sighed, before turning her attention back to Hawk Moth. "Now then, where was I? Right, the Miraculouses. I'd be happy to give you them so long as you swear fealty to me," she said, grinning. "You _were_ responsible for my existence, and I can afford to give up their power to secure your loyalty."

For a moment, Hawk Moth was silent. Then he said, his voice filled with a deadly calm, _"_ I believe this has gone on far enough. Even if you could defeat Ladybug, I refuse to swear myself to one of my own creations! It's time that you were put in your place."

"Really? And how do you propose to do that?" Frau Märchen asked snidely.

"By doing _this_!" Hawk Moth shouted, and the room suddenly pulsed with a purple energy. However, Frau Märchen simply began to laugh.

"That won't work, you fool. While Ladybug was being entranced by Scheherazade, my power grew great enough that I could externalize our little 'connection', or did you not notice that we've been talking out loud this whole time? You can't hurt me, and you _certainly_ can't take away the powers you so generously gave me. So if you're not going to serve me as Hawk Moth, I suppose I'll just have to settle with pinning you on my wall, little butterfly. You _are_ a fan of Andersen, I hope."

Hawk Moth's growl reverberated across the room, but no more light followed. "...Ladybug," he said as the dazed heroine pushed herself back to her feet. "I doubt I shall ever say this again...but you had better defeat Frau Märchen. I have worked too far to let my work be undone!" With that, his voice fell silent and his presence faded from the room.

"I was going to do it anyway," Ladybug sighed, "but at least I can cross 'Get encouraged by my archenemy' off my bucket list."

"Well, that was certainly a fine diversion. And I still have five minutes left to tear you apart!" Frau Märchen said cheerfully. "Now then, how would you like me to start? Swords? Witchcraft? Something in between?"

"How about you just stand there while I take you down!" Ladybug shouted, casting her yo-yo upward. "Lucky Charm!"

The yo-yo spun in midair, and an object was generated from the ether, a cylindrical red thing with black spots that fell into Ladybug's open hand. It was…

"Aerosol air freshener?" Ladybug asked nobody in particular. "What am I supposed to do with _this?_ "

"I suppose it could be useful for covering up the smell of your corpse once I'm done with you," Frau Märchen replied, sighing. "And really, did you have to use that now? You just wasted all the potential drama."

"Well, I have five minutes either way. Better make them count!" Ladybug retorted, spinning her yo-yo and putting the can on the floor next to her. This was one rare occasion when she couldn't see a way to use her Lucky Charm. Not yet, anyway.

"Right, right," Frau Märchen said dismissively. "Let's just get this over with before it gets any more boring."

Snarling, Ladybug threw her yo-yo at Frau Märchen, only for the villainess to snap the fingers on her hand not holding the grimoire. Suddenly, the tapestry bearing the Sun and the North Wind's image glowed, and a massive gust of wind blew through the room, knocking the yo-yo off course and sending it careening into a wall.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

In Frau Märchen's prison, meanwhile, Aurore, clad in a fine dress of spiraling silk resembling a tornado, suddenly found herself doubled over in pain, with what looked like a grey stream of energy flowing from the crown of clouds atop her head.

"Aurore!" Mirelle shouted, leaning over to her. She was in a radiant vermillion number topped with a crown resembling a literal sun hat, the wide brim offset by an orb of fiery gold.

"What's wrong?" Mylene asked, turning toward the two older students.

"It feels...like something's being drained from me!" Aurore managed to say, before the stream of energy suddenly stopped. As Aurore collapsed against the wall panting, the prisoners watched as Frau Märchen summoned a gust of wind to blow Ladybug's yo-yo away.

"Well that's not a good sign," Cat Noir muttered. Louder, he said, "This must be how Frau Märchen plans to use us! Everybody, you've gotta resist her control!"

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"What the…" Ladybug began as she reeled her yo-yo back, only to trail off when she finally took a closer look at the tapestries filling the room. "Oh no. Don't tell me-"

"Ah, so you do have some intelligence after all!" Frau Märchen chortled, a wicked grin on her face. "And truly, I must thank you for being so efficient in dealing with my servants. With them all defeated and their essences sealed away, I'm able to use all of the magic at my disposal!"

"You using your minions' powers doesn't change a thing!" Ladybug snapped back. "I've beaten them before, and I can do it again!"

"Oh really? Even when I do...this?" Frau Märchen said snidely, before snapping her fingers twice more. As the tapestries of the Pied Piper and the Golden Goose glowed, an army of golden feather-covered rats was disgorged from her grimoire, swarming all over the room and surrounding Ladybug.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Resist it!" Cat Noir shouted as wisps flew out of Nathaniel and Nino. The two grunted and gritted their teeth, squeezing their eyes shut, but the wisps flew out anyway.

"I...can't!" Nino told him. "She's too strong!"

"Keep trying!" Cat Noir replied.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Ladybug gasped and leapt backwards, bouncing off the wall with her feet and sending herself somersaulting forward. She shot out her yo-yo and seized the aerosol, spraying it at the rats as she landed. The vermin hissed and spat, furious at the chemical stench, but still kept charging, forcing Ladybug to jump away before she became stuck to their down-covered fur.

"Well, that's not it," she said to herself as she flew through the air. "Maybe-" she continued, before being interrupted by a glass bird slamming into her back. She crashed down towards the rats, but at the last moment, she brought her foot down on a rat's tail, the only part of it not covered in feathers. The rat squealed and exploded, leaving nothing behind.

"That's...unexpected," Ladybug said to herself

"I believe you have more important things to worry about!" chimed Frau Märchen. Ladybug looked up, then gasped when she saw that while only five of Cinderella's glass birds had been summoned, each one split into forty identical copies, filling the lair's high ceiling with the sound of their chirping.

"Cinderella and Ali Baba…" Ladybug muttered as she stared at the array of avians.

"The combination of all these powers makes me invincible, Ladybug," Frau Märchen bragged. "Your ingenuity and luck will only take you so far. Bow to me, and I will make your fate pleasant. You'll be my general, leading my armies as we go forth and bring this world ever further under my control."

"Not a chance!" Ladybug snapped back, as the first dot disappeared from her earrings with a small beep.

Frau Märchen clicked her tongue in response. "Pity. Then I suppose it is pain for you, then," she sighed, before snapping her fingers once more. The tapestry of Puss in Boots glowed as all the remaining rats began running up the walls, Puss's adhesive abilities in full effect. Once they got high enough, they leapt from the walls and landed on the glass birds, sticking together and shaping them into giant circular bludgeons of glass beaks and wings.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Cat Noir simply thought the others weren't trying hard enough when Frau Märchen accessed their powers, but the experience proved him wrong. No matter how many mental barriers he tried to put up, how much of his will he mustered, the process wasn't even slowed. It was as if he was putting up walls while Frau Märchen was tunneling underneath.

"Okay…" he said, panting as the pain ebbed away, "maybe resisting...was _fur_ naught."

"Glad you could figure that out!" Chloe snapped. But rather than her usual brattiness, she actually seemed concerned by Sabrina's fate, the mousy girl panting and groaning from where she was chained up next to her. "Now stop joking and do something useful!"

"I'm thinking!" Cat Noir snapped. "And I'm under enough pressure without you griping!"

"Are you okay, Cat Noir?" Alya asked.

"Not really, no!" Cat Noir replied. "My body was used against Ladybug all day, we're all stuck here, nothing I try is working, and I'm surrounded by people who I _should_ be saving, but can't! If only I could contact Ladybug…"

"Wait, hang on. Can you still use your Cataclysm?" Alya asked.

"I think so," Cat Noir replied. "Puss in Boots couldn't use it, but now that I'm back in control, I'm pretty sure I could. Why?"

"Can't it break through dimensions?" Alya asked. "You did that with Pixelator, right?"

"Definitely a _paw_ -sibility," Cat Noir said brightly, only to quickly revert to a more maudlin tone. "But if I do it, there'll be no way to break these chains. And that's assuming it works! This place is much more elaborately constructed than Pixelator's void. I know for sure that I won't be able to break the whole thing, and even if I break _something_ , there's no guarantee it'll do anything to help us _or_ Ladybug!"

"Not like you have any other options!" Alya said. "It's worth a shot at least!"

"Is it?" Cat Noir demanded. "Even if we do break a hole in this place, how's it going to help? We're still suck here!"

"But we could talk to Ladybug!" Rose suggested.

"And tell her what? Nothing she doesn't already know! We need a plan. _She_ needs a plan! Let's save our one option for when it'll help."

"And in the meantime?" Alix asked.

"Grit our teeth and try to get around this power draining," Cat Noir replied.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Are you nuts?" Ladybug demanded as she stared at Frau Märchen's newest creations. "How is doing that going to help you?"

"It's simple; I'm going to drop them," Frau Märchen replied. "Staggered properly, and at the size and number they are now, one of them is bound to crush you. Even if they don't, the splinters and shards will tear you to pieces."

"And you'll be protected by your magic," Ladybug said with a grimace.

"Exactly! Now then, let's begin!" Frau Märchen laughed. And with a snap of her fingers, the glass bludgeons began to descend, slowly at first but picking up speed, while Frau Märchen herself disappeared from sight.

Intrepid as ever, Ladybug braced herself and spun her yo-yo, creating her shield as she leapt at the hunks of glass. She spun and landed on the first one, but only stood on it for a second before leaping to the next one. She quickly ascended to the highest one, watching as the others came crashing to the ground, creating a cacophony of breaking glass. She stayed on the final bludgeon for a few more moments, waiting until it was fairly close to the ground, then put her yo-yo on her waist, leapt off and grabbed onto a nearby tapestry with the hand not holding her Lucky Charm, hanging from the wall as the final glass sphere shattered on the floor.

Ladybug stayed there, panting as she surveyed the lair beneath her, watching as the cloud of glass shards began to settle.

 _Let's hope this dust clears soon,_ Ladybug thought. _Otherwise, I might get caught-_

Ladybug's train of thought was interrupted as the tapestry beneath her fingers began to glow. Gasping, she looked down and groaned at what she saw.

"You've got to be kidding me," she muttered before the Little Mermaid tapestry launched forth a tremendous blast of water, sending Ladybug slamming into the opposite wall. By the time she slid down, the glass shards had dissipated, but she was soaked, slightly humiliated, and extremely annoyed.

"Enjoy your bath, Ladybug?" Frau Märchen said, reappearing in a shimmer of stardust. "Face it, you cannot defeat me! I have the strength of the Beast, the durability of the Peluda, and the agility of Puss in Boots! In my fairy tale, I am all-powerful!"

Shaking herself dry, Ladybug swiftly leapt to her feet. With the aerosol in one hand and her yo-yo in the other, she tried rushing at the villainess, only for her to snap her fingers and blow her away with another gust of wind. As Ladybug crashed on the other side of the room, the second dot disappeared from her earrings with a small beep.

"You are nothing before the power of storytelling!" Frau Märchen chortled by Ladybug's downed form. "It is the power that shapes hearts, defines minds, and creates world upon world. Generations, cultures, whole histories are built upon stories! And today, it is that same power that will end your life!"

As Ladybug raised her head, she noticed the swiftly fading glow of the Sun and North Wind tapestry. Flashing back to the rest of the fight, she thought, _Okay, so those tapestries are obviously how she's using her minions' powers, but how do I get rid of them?_

As she was contemplating, Frau Märchen walked up to her, a sadistic grin on her face. 'Well now, this _has_ been fun," she said, "but I think the time has come to put you out of your misery." With a flick of her wrist, a glass dagger materialized in her hand as Snow White's tapestry glowed. "Don't worry. I'll make this painless."

Ladybug tensed as she stared up at the dagger. She was ready to dodge it, but had no idea what to do afterwards. As she subtly shuffled to the side, she thought, _How can I plan for someone like_ this _?_

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

In Frau Märchen's dungeon, Cat Noir was thinking much the same thing as she stared despondently at the viewing screen.

"I'm sorry!" Juleka howled. It wasn't often that she spoke above a mumble, but this was quite an exception. "I can't stop her!"

Next to her, Rose was crying. "Stop it, stop it!" she pleaded. "Take from me if you want, but leave Juleka alone!"

"She'll gladly take both, dear," Ms. Mendeleiev said sadly, shaking her head as she stared at her former colleague, ready to destroy Paris's champion. "I never realized that Caline had such... _darkness_ lurking inside her."

"It's not her," Cat Noir said. "It's Hawk Moth. He turns his victims' emotions up to the max. Otherwise, they'd never obey him."

"That may be so, but that doesn't change the situation," Mr. D'Argencourt said, a frown upon his face. "We're still helpless here while she's busy destroying the world."

Cat Noir had no reply to that, hanging his head. For a few moments, all he could hear were Juleka's screams and Rose's sobs. Then, suddenly, he heard a gasp.

Straightening up, he saw green wisps of energy emerging from Rose, spiralling up and out of sight.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Frau Märchen cackled, assured of her victory when, out of nowhere, the shining dagger was destroyed - crushed by a thicket of thorns that suddenly grew out of her hand.

"What the-" she said, before quickly turning as she heard Ladybug dive away. "Get back here you little brat!" she shouted as she ran after her.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Back in Frau Märchen's dungeon, the prisoners were all staring flabbergasted at the viewing column.

"Rose! Are you okay?" Alya asked.

"I'm...fine!" Rose said, surprised and delighted. "It didn't even hurt!"

"...That's it!" Cat Noir shouted, his face breaking into a wide grin. "That's how we can fight back!"

"By giving her our powers?" Nino asked. "Isn't that literally the opposite of what we want?"

However, Alya was grinning too. "Not necessarily. She only wants certain powers at certain times, whatever she needs for her plan that moment. But if we can give her _any_ power whenever _we_ want…"

"Then we can throw her off completely!" Max finished, his draconian eyes growing even wider.

"Everyone!" Cat Noir ordered, looking around the room. "Start giving her your powers!"

"In what order?" Ms. Mendeleiev asked.

"No order, that's the point! Keep it random!" Cat Noir replied. "Meanwhile," he continued, looking at his right hand, "I'd say that _now_ we have something useful to tell her…"

Chuckling, Cat Noir clenched his right paw, collecting destructive energy within, his will and the strength of his Miraculous overwhelming the mantle of Puss in Boots' power. As it gathered, he focused on breaking through the dimension, shattering its defenses, and destroying the thing he hated most of all; the distance between him and Ladybug.

"Cataclysm!"

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

As Ladybug made her way across the room, she stared at Frau Märchen with a confused look on her face. While the villainess had initially begun pursuing her, she was soon halted when an army of rats started pouring out from her grimoire, surrounding her. She tried to banish them, but was soon distracted by spines popping out all over her body, followed by her being unceremoniously hoisted into the air by a giant mortar and pestle.

"What is going on?" Ladybug asked herself, then suddenly jumped when she heard a voice next to her ear. A very familiar voice.

" _Ladybug?"_

"Cat Noir?!" Ladybug gasped. "Where are you?" she asked, looking around the room.

" _I'm in some sort of prison dimension. All of Frau Märchen's former minions are here, and we're ready to help!"_

"How do I know this isn't a trick?" Ladybug asked, her eyes narrowing as she dodged and wove around the chaotic spells. "How do I know you aren't just Puss in Boots trying to set me up?"

" _Come on, Bugaboo. Can you really doubt this_ meow- _vellous voice of mine?"_

Ladybug breathed a sigh of relief as a flurry of arrows flew between her legs. "Okay, it's _definitely_ you. So can you guys see what's going on?"

" _Yes, Frau Märchen left us a visual. But we can't talk through it, and we can't break out. I tore a hole open with my Cataclysm, but it's only big enough to let us talk."_

"Well, there goes that plan," Ladybug muttered. "Anything else to report?"

Cat Noir chuckled, _"Let's just say you can thank us for Frau Märchen's little magical meltdown over there,_ " he said.

"Huh?" Ladybug asked, bending over backwards to avoid a wave of darts made of congealed blood. "But how? I thought she was just channeling power through those tapestries!"

" _Yeah, and that's where we are,"_ Cat Noir replied. _"Whenever she attacks, she drains the power she wants from one of us. We couldn't stop her, but we were able to do the next best thing; give her ones she doesn't want. Now we can keep her going haywire for as long as you need."_

"That's good, but I still can't get close to her," Ladybug said as she dove to the side, avoiding a golden egg. "With all these spells firing off, it's too dangerous to move in and take her down!"

" _Then figure out how!"_ Cat Noir said. _"That's your biggest strength! Come up with a plan, and we'll help you however we can!"_

Ladybug smiled at this and nodded. As she continued to dodge and leap about the room, she cast her eyes around her, taking in anything useful: the aerosol can, the thorns around Frau Märchen's wrist, the uncontrolled wave of spells, the arrows in the wall, the tapestries…

"That's it! Cat, I need fire and nothing else, right now!" she shouted as the third dot disappeared from her earrings.

" _You got it! Mirelle, you're up!"_ she heard Cat Noir say. A few moments later, the thorns in Frau Märchen's hand burst into flames as the various other spells faded away. Before Frau Märchen could recover, Ladybug seized one of the arrows from behind her, then leapt over to her and stabbed the arrow into the thorns. She twisted it and pulled back, now holding a makeshift torch as she jumped away from the still dazed villainess.

"To anybody watching this," Ladybug warned, "don't try this at home." With that, she leapt high into the air. Halfway through her jump, she cried "Hourglass!" and summoned the magical timepiece for a split second, bouncing off of it and making her way to the top of the room. Holding her torch in one hand and the aerosol in the other, she spun around and hit the canister's button. When the chemical mist connected with the flames, it created a makeshift flamethrower, igniting the tapestries on all sides. As Ladybug fell, she twisted in midair to spray the fire throughout the entire room. By the time she landed, the entire room was on fire.

" _It worked!"_ came Cat Noir's voice. _"Our binds are being released!"_

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

And indeed, all throughout the prison the chains were snapping away and the shackles fading, releasing the prisoners and restoring them to their normal appearances.

" _Great!"_ came Ladybug's voice into Cat Noir's ear, the hero stretching and admiring his restored costume. _"So does that mean you're getting out?"_

"I don't think so," he replied, surveying the prison. "The dimension's still intact. What you did shook it up, but it didn't break it. We're not free yet, but she definitely can't use us anymore!"

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Awesome. Just hang on tight. Shouldn't take too much longer," Ladybug said, before looking around the room and watching the flames quickly ascend towards the ceiling. "Huh. Guess magic flames back a bit more of a punch," Ladybug said to herself before she heard a scream of unadulterated fury coming from behind her. Turning, she saw Frau Märchen, her face twisted into a rictus of rage.

"You...YOU LITTLE BRAT!" the villainess shrieked, her grimoire flipping wildly of its own accord. "I'LL TEAR YOU TO PIECES AND FEED THEM TO THE HOUNDS!"

With a snap of her fingers, an array of stardust bolts flew towards Ladybug, who ducked and dove around them with ease.

"What are _you_ upset about?" she taunted as she ran around the room. "You said that stories shape generations, and you were right! They just shaped that generation against you!"

"HOW DARE YOU MOCK ME!" Frau Märchen screamed, sending wave after wave of bolt at Ladybug.

"Well when you're only down to one attack, it's pretty easy," Ladybug said snidely. "For an evil sorceress, you're sure bad at magic when you can't drain from your minions. Is that really your only spell?" For all her taunting, though, she knew it wasn't over. She'd need some sort of trick to get ahold of that grimoire.

"SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!" the villainess demanded, her decorum completely gone as she filled the entire room with her stardust blasts. "YOU CAN'T TAKE THIS FROM ME! IT'S MINE! I EARNED IT! THE WORLD OF STORIES BELONGS TO ME!"

"No they don't," Ladybug said as she effortlessly wove around the attacks. "They belong to everyone, and everyone has the right to perceive them as they see fit. That's what makes them so enduring. Right...Ms. Bustier?" she said, grinning.

At that, Frau Märchen all but exploded with rage. " **MY! NAME! IS! FRAU! MÄRCHEN!** " she screamed, conjuring up a massive bolt of energy. " **AND** -"

"Run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!"

Both heroine and villainess looked over to see a gingerbread Alya capering around the room, giggling and singing as small fires burned all over it. Frau Märchen was dumbfounded, the attack fading away in her hands as she stared slack-jawed at the pastry.

Ladybug blinked, and then shrugged. "I'll take what I can get," she said before yelling, "Hey, Frau Märchen!"

Still stunned, the villainess turned to her absently.

"Time to close the book!" she shouted, before tossing her lit torch and the aerosol can in Frau Märchen's direction, just as the second-to-last dot faded from her earrings and the viewing column showed the sun just about to disappear over the horizon.

Emotionally drained, confused, and horrified, Frau Märchen could do nothing but watch as both torch and aerosol landed, as perfectly as if a hand had moved them, upon her grimoire.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

 _MP: Don't go yet! There's one last chapter!_

 **PA2: Isn't the ending cliffhanger indication enough?**

 _MP: Hey, it's hard to perfectly estimate people's intelligence! Anyway, you won't have to wait long! It's already up, after all! But don't let that stop you from reviewing both!_


	14. And They All Lived Happily Ever After

_MP: Once more, welcome back! Even though you probably never left…_

 **PA2: Yeah, and for those who just clicked on the latest chapter button, go one back. This is a two-update day. And now we've officially dated our skits to the precise moment they were posted!**

 _MP: Also, go back if you haven't reviewed the last one. Don't you try to cheat us!_

 **PA2: Or just give us a massive review summary split over two chapters. We'd take that as well.**

 _MP: Name withheld, we need to be a united front for the readers. Otherwise, how will they ever respect our authority?_

 **PA2: ...We write Ladybug fanfiction on the Internet. What "authority" do they need to respect?**

 _MP: Just once can't you support my nonsense instead of simply knuckling under?_

 **PA2: Look, my contract clearly states that I was hired to be "the straight man". It's in my job description to fight your nonsense at every turn.**

 _MP: That "straight man contract" was for you to be my nonthreatening wingman at gay bars, and you know it!_

 **PA2: Okay, let's stop here before MP reveals any more personal information about himself. See you at the bottom for our final words on the fic, and enjoy the epilogue!**

 **Epilogue: And They All Lived Happily Ever After**

With a blinding flash, the aerosol can ignited, bursting with enough force to knock the grimoire out of Frau Märchen's hands. As the sorceress staggered backwards, the flames quickly ate through the book, leaving behind nothing but a pile of ash, a few pieces of aluminum, and a small black butterfly.

Walking up to it, Ladybug smiled and whipped out her yo-yo. "No more evildoing for you, little akuma," she said, tossing out her weapon. "Time to de-evilize!"

The yo-yo flew out and popped open like a beetle's shell, capturing the akuma within as it returned to Ladybug's hand.

"Bye-bye, little butterfly," she said with a chuckle as she tapped the yo-yo. It popped open again, and the butterfly, now white once more, flew out.

As the butterfly flew away, Ladybug grabbed the remaining pieces of the aerosol can and tossed them into the air, shouting, "Miraculous Ladybug!"

The metal fragments flew through the air and combined into a wheel of life shape over Ladybug's head, then burst outward as an enormous swarm comprised of millions of ladybugs. The beetles flew out in every direction, spreading throughout Paris, and everything and everyone they touched returned to how it was before Frau Märchen's spell had taken hold. Marinette's parents found themselves in their kitchen, very much human. The Eiffel Tower went from a massive beanstalk back into a tower of crisscrossing metal. And Mayor Bourgeois, thankfully, was gifted his old suit. Principal Damocles, still perched on the mayor's shoulder, also turned back to his old self, flattening the man beneath him as he did.

And back at Frau Märchen's castle, the entire edifice glowed brightly before dissolving, leaving College Francoise Dupont in its place. Ladybug, Cat Noir, all of Frau Märchen's prisoners, and the villain herself were all now standing in the courtyard.

Turning to Ladybug, Cat Noir grinned. "Pound it!" he said, putting his fist forward. Ladybug punched it and, uncharacteristically, swept her partner up in a hug.

"Glad you're safe," she said as she disengaged.

"Remind me to get brainwashed more often," he replied, a goofy grin on his face. "It always gets me the best rewards."

Ladybug scoffed, shaking her head, before turning to look at Frau Märchen, who was being encased in black energy. When it faded, Ms. Caline Bustier was left in her place, kneeling on the ground with a huge leather-bound book by her side. She blearily looked around before gasping, her eyes widening. She snatched up her beloved book, holding it close to her chest. And then she began to sob. "Class…" she managed to choke out. "Class dismissed."

But no one left. Not even Ladybug, who had less than a minute to go before her power ran out.

"Ms. Bustier?" Alya asked, stepping forward to her crying teacher. "Are you...okay?"

Ms. Bustier shook her head, tears running down her cheeks. "Bad enough that I became a villain," she said, "even worse that I seem to have dragged all of you into it, but worst of all? I still feel just as upset about losing my class! How selfish can I be?" she managed to choke out before her sobs resumed.

Glancing at the teacher, Ladybug made to step forward, only for Cat Noir to put a hand on her arm. "Get somewhere safe before you turn into a pumpkin," he said, smiling. "I'll see what I can do."

Ladybug frowned, but nodded, quickly running out of sight. Cat Noir smiled, then looked at his ring, which had three claws remaining.

Walking towards Ms. Bustier, Cat Noir laid a hand on her shoulder, prompting her to look up. "It's okay," he said. "No one here blames you for any of this. I mean," he continued, chuckling, "it's not like you're the first to get turned into a villain and go crazy. So don't beat yourself up over that."

"But-" Ms. Bustier began, before Cat Noir interrupted her.

"And as for the whole 'selfish' thing, it seems like you lost something that you were really looking forward to. Just because we beat the villain doesn't mean you instantly have to feel better. Don't bottle it up or insult yourself, just bear it. And remember that you have a ton of people to help you through it."

"He's right, Ms. Bustier," Marinette said, emerging from around the corner. She was carrying a wicker basket. "Keep in mind, happily ever after is just wherever you stop reading. And it never comes easy. You have to work, and try, and just keep going. But you'll get there. I know you will."

With a smile, she handed her homeroom teacher a cookie. It was decorated to look exactly like Ms. Bustier.

"When I came to, I found this right next to me," Marinette said as Ms. Bustier stared at the cookies. "A bunch of them were missing, but luckily this one wasn't!"

"Marinette…" Ms. Bustier said, wiping her eyes dry.

"And that's where I bow out. Good luck!" Cat Noir shouted before racing up to the wall, vaulting to the school's roof, and running out of sight.

"As for your class," Marinette said, undeterred by Cat Noir's sudden departure. "I have an idea…"

Ms. Bustier smiled, but kept her head down, staring at the cookies.

The Adrien and Marinette ones seemed to be hand in hand.

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Well, that was a colossal waste of time and effort," Gabriel Agreste said. As soon as he'd felt his akuma get purified, he had ended his transformation. Now, as he and Nathalie were almost at the location of the exhibition, he was glaring angrily through the tinted glass of his windshield while Nooroo recovered his strength.

"It wasn't a complete loss, Mr. Agreste," Nathalie remarked. "That was one of your most powerful creations yet."

"Too powerful," he replied. "This is the second time that an akuma has gotten out of control like that. I've been lucky twice, but I doubt I will be so lucky a third time."

"Master, does that mean you are considering giving up your quest?" Nooroo said hopefully.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Gabriel said, sneering at the suddenly wilting kwami. "No, my need for the Miraculouses is as great as ever. Possibly greater now that I know that a Guardian is living in Paris. With all those Miraculouses…"

"Sir," Nathalie asked, startling Gabriel out of his reverie. "I presume you have a specific plan to prevent a mishap like this?"

Coughing, Gabriel straightened his outfit. "Indeed. Nathalie, once we return to Paris, seek out a collection of books regarding magic. My experience is limited outside of the Miraculouses, and if I am to properly take advantage of minions like Frau Märchen, I need to know exactly what it is I'm dealing with."

"Of course, Mr. Agreste," Nathalie replied coolly. She then brought the limo to a halt. "We're here," she said. "Are you ready?"

"Of course," echoed Gabriel, making minor adjustments to his cravat and placing Nooroo inside his satchel. As he opened the limo door and stepped into the sunlight of the French countryside, he shaped his features into their usual stoic mask, hiding the smoldering anger he still felt. _Soon,_ he thought, _I'll have my own happily ever after. And once Ladybug and Cat Noir fall, I'll be that much closer to it!_

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

 **One week later...**

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Bye mom!" Marinette said cheerfully as she rushed out the door and ran down the block. Paris had bounced back from Frau Märchen's attack with its usual resilience. With how constant the akuma attacks were, even big ones could be cleared away in a matter of days. Even the fact that Ms. Bustier's students and colleagues, the ones who were Frau Märchen's direct minions at least, still remembered their experiences didn't deter them for long.

 _I really am lucky to have such strong friends_ , Marinette thought as she jogged through the street. _Still, there is one thing I'm regretting…_

"Still upset about how you never got to see Adrien as Prince Charming?" Tikki piped in from Marinette's purse, prompting Marinette to sputter.

"How'd you know I was thinking about that?" she asked, her face turning bright red.

"When are you not?" Tikki giggled. "Just give it time, Marinette. It'll happen. I'm sure of it."

Marinette smiled and rolled her eyes as she burst through the doors of the nearby library. She slowed down only a little, turning to the room that had been set aside.

"Just in time, Marinette," Ms. Bustier said brightly. She and the rest of Marinette's class, sans Chloe, were already seated around the large table.

"I wouldn't miss it!" Marinette replied as she walked over to the open seat next to Alya. As she slid into it, she smiled to see Adrien waving at her from across the table. Looking around, she saw everyone - Rose, Sabrina, even Alix and Kim - all staring at Ms. Bustier with rapt attention. In the back she could even see Ms. Mendeleiev, Mr. D'Argencourt and, shockingly, Principal Damocles, seated at a smaller table, focused on Ms. Bustier.

As she looked, she saw Principal Damocles give a slight incline of the head. "Caline, the floor is yours. And may I just say, Marinette had an excellent idea when she proposed this. We may not have had the budget for a new class, but an extracurricular group is something else entirely."

"Thank you, Principal Damocles," she said gratefully, a beaming smile on her face. "And thank you all for coming to the first meeting of the Fairy Tale Discussion Club. Let's begin, shall we?"

And as Ms. Bustier began to talk, Marinette thought, _Happily ever after must feel a lot like this._

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

 **The End**

 **0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

 _MP: Don't you love a happy ending?_

 **PA2: I know I do. So, final thoughts on this whole thing, MP?**

 _MP: It still feels like a video game._

 **PA2: other name redacted, it's our last skit for the last chapter of the fic we've so far put the most effort in. Mind taking it seriously?**

 _MP: Two serious guys would be boring. Who would watch that sitcom?_

 **PA2: Okay then, I'll start. This fic was a huge passion project, and it's something that I'm really happy to have gotten accomplished. I've always been a big fan of fairy tales, and it was nice to put that knowledge to good use.**

 _MP: Ditto. It's been a work of love really, especially that Arabian Night. And it all came from a single lecture from Ms. Bustier in_ Dark Cupid _._

 **PA2: Agreed. And, of course, I couldn't have done it without MP's help. This really was a collaborative effort from start to finish, and I couldn't have asked for a better co-writer.**

 _MP: Not that he didn't try, but Thomas Astruc wouldn't answer his emails._

 **PA2: Tell me you wouldn't drop me in a hot minute if he came calling to do a collab.**

 _MP: Oh, absolutely. But yeah, I really couldn't have done this without you._

 **PA2: Thanks! Plus, we managed to get this out before Ms. Bustier's** _ **actual**_ **villain form showed up, so there's that!**

 _MP: That's right, she has one. It's called "Zombizou". Look it up._

 **PA2: And with that shameless plug for the tv series, it's time to bid you all adieu. Until next time, everybody!**

 _MP: And there_ will _be a next time! If you're not already following me, you should do it now! We've already got three or four other akuma ideas!_

 **PA2: Indeed we do. Let's get back to work on those, eh? Can't keep our readers waiting too long.**

 _MP: Yeah. We're off to work on the next one right now! See ya!_


End file.
